


Rise Up

by Dildo_Swaggins_T_Baggins



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Backstory, Drown the miners, M/M, Mystery, Revolution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2020-09-23 20:50:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20346523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dildo_Swaggins_T_Baggins/pseuds/Dildo_Swaggins_T_Baggins
Summary: Optimus has questions for Lord Megatron.Megatron has answers.





	1. Interview

**Author's Note:**

> I saw that short animation with young tfa Megatron and I LOVE HIM! WHO LET HIM BE THAT CUTE? AND THAT SWEET?! MY BABY!

A guard stood above him, pointing a blaster at his helm, while two escorted him towards the check-in. Two more were stationed there, their servos locked behind their backs, all optics were on them. Sentinel stopped, on either side of him were the Jet twins, behind them was Jazz and finally in the center of it all was him, Optimus.  
Sentinel stepped forward letting the guards check his subspace and scan him, then Optimus, the twins and finally Jazz. The Warden stepped forward, he nodded to Sentinel before leading them towards a lift. All 6 mechs stepped onto the lift, the Warden typed in a code locking the lift and they descended.  
Optimus felt it, the tension in the air, it reminded him of the storms that earth would have, clouds rolling over the skies, blocking out the sun, any second they could strike. He knew first hand how dangerous Megatron could be, that Trypticon wasn’t a prison it was a tomb. It slowed to a stop, the only other floor to the prison. The doors opened to another long hallway. The Warden lead them down it, guards stationed at every door, ever hall, every corner, somewhere high above ready to strike down a warframe.  
The warden stopped them at a massive door, holding up his servo. “There’s a 5-foot barrier of crystal between him and you. A debriefing room and whatever else you need is in there. There are cameras if they malfunction he will be drugged and a lead barrier will replace the crystal one.” He turned towards Optimus, his optics showing little to no emotion. “You’re requested that you would like to be alone with him, I hope to Primus that none of those defenses fail.”  
Optimus cleared his intake. “Open it.”  
The Warden vented shaking his helm and he typed in another code and the door slid aside. Optimus walked in, meanwhile, Sentinel and company watched him. “Best of luck to you.”  
The door slid shut, and Optimus was alone, a single light above him, he calmed his raging spark, venting raggedly and shaking his frame. “Stop it, you’ve faced Megatron before, and you’ve beaten him.” He started to pace, venting, feeling his cooling systems come to life, hew chewed his lips and cursed. “Stop it, you wanted to get his side of the story...I’m so fragged.” He grumbled pressing a bell for the door to open.  
It snapped open and he stepped forward, 20 foot thick walls, high ceilings a tiny table, 5 feet of crystal. And there he was, Megatron, he hadn’t changed much, his self-repair was tending to his wounds as well as a few brave medics. He still held this air about him, like a thunderstorm, narrowed optics, a stone face, he looked at ease but at any second he could reach over and rip off Optimus’ helm.  
Optimus forced himself to vent. “Megatron.”  
“Optimus.” He only leaned back, folding his servos, the thick collar around his neck flashed in the light. “What do I owe this pleasure?”  
Optimus forced his peds to move, sitting at the tiny table, pulling out a few datapads. “I wanted to ask you something.”  
Megatron cocked an optic ridge.  
“Why did you start this?” Optimus looked up at the mech holding that red glare.  
Megatron’s laugh was deep and rumbled through the floor and up Optimus’ peds, he leaned forward, becoming eye level with Optimus, meeting Optimus. “I didn’t start this.”  
“Every record we have on file states that you’re the mech to blame.” He didn’t back down, staring into those dark optics, seeing a flash of something besides cold hatred in them.  
“What is it that you truly want?” He didn’t move, venting, a slight fog spread across the crystal.   
Optimus vented. “What made you a monster?”  
Megatron grimly smiled. “Ah, finally a good question, I suppose you’ll be recording this and taking notes?”  
He nodded.  
“Good, we’re going to be here a while.” He sat back, crossing his legs. “And I do mean, a long while. We’ll start where I can remember.”

* * *

He kicked the tiny rock back and forth between his peds, watching as it would skip or jump, but still roll over the ground. Bored he sat back, letting his peds swing as he hummed. The town square wasn’t too big, but it wasn’t small, a few mechs gathered there, some by the wells while others sat on top of old ruins. Sparklings played in them climbing up and down, making shelters and playing tag. He didn’t play with the other sparklings, instead, he kept his optics on the bell.

Any second now the workers would be brought up, and sent to their homes, all he had to do was wait.

“Wait.” He repeated out loud, grabbing an old medical tool and falling on his knees, he started to draw in the dirt. Drawing the mines, energon crystals, and strangely enough the sun, he had never seen the sun before but he heard stories about it. How warm it felt and how the land around it would grow. His sun was a little lopsided but the lines on the outside helped. “Wait.” Once again he repeated, moving to the side and writing the word in the dirt, then again, and again. He then tried to write his name, not getting the E just right and writing a N and not an R.

He huffed stomping out the letters and trying again, making it bigger, he got the E right, but still struggled with the R. Once again he stomped it out and tried again, and again. Finally pleased with it.

MEGATRONUS.

“Megatronus.” He repeated, getting his vocalizer in a loop at the long name. It was a proud name, or so he was told, it meant strong, smart and reliable. He beamed, grinning.

That didn’t last long as the bell finally rang, he jumped, wiggling in his peds as the slow crank of the lift echoed in the square. The first few mechs grumbled and rushed off the lift, some were shoved out of the way while others just kept walking. He perked up looking for a familiar frame, only to have his spark plummet as the lift was sent down again.

“Come on, we’ve got to be quick.” A mech whispered walking past him, talking to a group of mechs as they all walked towards a hole in the wall. 

Megatronus frowned, shouldn’t all the mechs be going home to their bonded and sparklings, or what few mechs had sparklings. The slow crank of the lift echoed again, the thought left his processor as he turned towards the lift, once again wiggling in place as the lift stopped and mechs walked out. He wiggled left and right trying to spot a certain mech, a few familiar faces, the lift emptied and Megatronus frowned.

“There you are!”

Megatronus jumped as a massive grime-covered servo scooped him up, he tried to hold on only to slip and face plant. He flipped over smiling up at the massive mech. “Terminus!”

The old mech laughed, setting Megatronus on his shoulder as he walked through the town. “I saw you were writing your name again.”

He nodded. “Yeah,” His smiled doubled in size. 

Terminus smiled back, each step felt like the world was shaking at his sire’s feet, Megatronus gripped tightened. Terminus hummed an old miner song, one that even Megatronus could hear faintly crawling up the mine shafts if he listened hard enough. “What did you do today, little one?”

“I explored a little but mostly read.” His peds swung back and forth, humming the miner song, he hasn’t learned the words yet and Terminus won’t teach then. “What about you, sire?”

Terminus vented, stopping at their worker building, pausing as his optics looked at the endless stairs. His massive servo grabbed the railing and pushed himself up, one ped at a time, it took a while to get up one flight. “I helped a team in their tunnel, one of them is hardly out of their youngling plates.” He huffed, shaking his helm.

Megatronus watched his sire slowly ascend another set of stairs, lucky that this was where their hab was. He jumped off Terminus’ shoulder and rushed towards the door, he tried to grab the handle, failing Megatronus kicked a brick over and stepping up it. He reached up and opened the door, kicking the brick aside once again and holding the door open for his sire. 

Terminus thanked him, rubbing his helm as he stepped in. Megatronus watched his massive sire move around, grabbing two empty cubes and filling them up. He put some iron in his and copper and rust into Megatronus’. Megatronus ran over to the old sofa, grabbing a soft patched up tarp, Terminus sat down, lifting his peds onto the sofa. Megatronus threw the tarp over him and crawled up onto Terminus’ lap. “What shall I tell you about tonight?” Terminus rumbled.

“Hmmm… What was your sparkling hood like?” He asked taking his cube from Terminus and sipping on it. He never guzzled his down, instead, he paced himself, drank slowly, savored the taste.

“Mmm, my sparkling hood?” Terminus’ faceplates twisted deep in thought, his peds stretching and cracking. “I vaguely remember being a war frame, on a massive cargo ship, my sire and carrier were there to guard the ship from rogues and Quintessons. The crew loved me, always seeing how strong I was, I was stronger then the captain and I was your age.” He laughed. “They called the ‘might scraplet’, asked me to carry heavy wires into tight places, crawl around where they couldn’t, made good money. But my carrier, Ironback, wasn’t too happy to be washing me every cycle.”

He curled up in his sire’s lap, Terminus rested a servo around Megatronus, he used it as his tarp sometimes. “What was Ironback like?”

“Ironback? He was… he had a sharp tongue, I never told him who paid me or asked me to work, he would’ve chewed those poor mechs out. My sire, your grandsire, only went by his nickname, Axl-Axe. He always carried an ax with him, hardly using it as an ax, instead, he used it for everything else, only using it as an ax once.” He snorted. “Or the one time I saw him use it. Axl-Axe was the exact opposite of Ironback, claim, soft, he could care less if I was filthy, only told me to save my money.” Terminus yawned, it wouldn’t be long now, he would recharge and Megatronus would wait. “We were once attacked by Quintessons, horrible creatures, the captain, Kup, he liked me a lot, shoved me into the ship's vents. I was overhead and I watched as they invaded, blasters are drawn. Captain Kup handled it, telling the crew to wait as my creators fought through the Quintessons. The Quintessons got the news that the guards were making their way up, not too happy about this they pointed their blasters at Kup.” He laughed. “Well that’s when the vent gave in on my weight, and I landed on the leader of the Quintessons, and Kup shot the two behind him and grabbed me. He threw me to the polite and held them off before my creators came fighting like mad turbo foxes.” Terminus vented, rubbing Megatronus’ helm. “I wish you could’ve met them, they would’ve loved you.”

Megatronus beamed at that, looking down at his tiny servos and then Terminus’ massive ones.  _One day I’m going to be bigger than Terminus, and I’ll do good, I’ll protect mechs like my grand-creators!_


	2. The Good Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Imagine bitlet TFA Megatron, that's right he's adorable! Now let's turn him evil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured why not? Update this fic I've already typed up a few chapters.  
Is Terminus a good dad? Find out next time!

‘Megatronus’, he stared down at the well-written name, a tiny smile spreading up his faceplates. He sat on the old fountain once again, watching the underground city thrive in its’ how filth. He started to notice how the city worked, mechs would go to the mines, working, then they would come home. There were fewer and fewer sparklings each solar cycle, only a servo emerged this solar cycle.  
He watched as the small group of sparklings played, throwing a rusty pile of scrap at one another. Those sparklings were the youngest, the ones that would wait due to boredom, other sparklings his age were off playing in the rubble or getting into trouble. Another group of them were foolishly climbing up the old clinic ruins. Megatronus got to his peds forebodings about the rusty orange structure. “Get off of that.” He sternly said grabbing one of the youngest rebellious Mechling and pulling him off. “It’s a decaying.”  
The Mechling twisted in his servo, sticking out his tongue. “So?”  
A piece of twisted metal groaned at the weight of a Mechling who stood triumphantly on top of it. “I’m the king of the mountain!” A loud creak echoed in the remains of the clinic, the piece snapped in half and the sparkling came tumbling down helm first.  
Megatronus hissed letting go of the Mechling's servo. “All of you get out! Now!” He yelled, stomping towards the injured sparkling, he knelt next to the sparkling and rolled him onto his side. Poor idiotic Mechling broke his optic, nothing else but a few dents and scratches. “King of the mountain indeed.” He huffed pulling out the shards of his optic, the sparkling clung to him admitting a low whine as his other optic was dripping washer fluid. “You’ll be fine.”  
“It hurts.” He whined.  
“I know,” Megatronus patted his back plates removing the last shard and piling them up in the sparklings’ servos. “Can you still see?”  
He nodded. “My carrier is going to kill me.”  
“Keep the shards, there’s a mech in the 17th living complex named Firefist, he’ll melt them back into your optic cover.” Megatronus smiled, thinking back to when Terminus’ optic shattered in the mines, Megatronus walked his sire down to Firefist and later that cycle Terminus’ optic has been repaired.  
“Thank you.” The sparkling smiled getting to his peds and holding onto the shards for dear life before running off into the maze of tall, gray buildings.  
The bell rang and he jumped turning to see the elevators slowly lifting mechs, they stumbled out the wear and tear of the mines pulled at their frames. Megatronus returned to his spot under the ancient fountain, waving to a few friendly faces, but he knew that Terminus was always on the last lift.  
He watched as two mechs clung to one another as they exited the lifts, servos intertwined and mumbling soft words to one another. They were young, hardly out of their last upgrades, one of them still had their 20th plates on, hardly mine worthy protection. Strange that they were so young and...close.  
The second lift carried more mechs up, they flooded into the quart yard most of them wandered home, however, a few (always the same few) would mosey towards the hole in the wall. It would be a while until the last lift came up with Terminus, and more mechs wiggled through the crack. Megatronus got to his peds and ran towards the hole just as the last mech stepped in. He held his vents in peering down into the hole, activating his night vision, strange that it was just a set of stairs and old worn-out ones. Megatronus saw a few words carved high above the stairs he tried to make out what they spelled but gave up as whispers rose up from the tunnel.  
“Megatronus!”  
He squeaked as a massive servo grabbed his back plating and yanked him up, he cringed seeing the pissed expression Terminus wore, his red optics burning into Megatronus’. “Hi, sire.” He forced a huge smile.  
Terminus’ frown only doubled in size. “Home, now!” He dropped Megatronus on his aft and towered over him. Megatronus got to his peds shaking the dirt off as he stiffly marched towards their hab.  
  
He opened the door and stepped in hanging his helm.  
Terminus followed him shutting the door, he opened his intake then shut it going over to the dispenser. He held the silent letting it sink into Megatronus, however, his every movement was loud, as if every ped step as an explosion, every vent sent a shiver down Megatronus’ backplates. Finally, his sire sat down, rubbing his tired optics. “Don’t ever go down there, that's the crypts, those mechs they…” He vented pulling Megatronus onto his lap. “They don’t respect the dead, I understand their frustration, their hate, their loss, but they don’t understand history.” He rumbled shaking his helm. “Stubborn fools will drown in their own execrate and they’ll pull us down too.”  
Megatronus looked down at his tiny servos, then up to Terminus, and he gasped. His sire was tough, he was the mech everyone would go to for help, but he would keep to himself. Rarely would he go out and pull apart fights, mechs respected him, and Megatronus saw his sire take a servo drill to the face and not a drop of washer fluid would fall. He watched as his sire made no sound, not even the softest vent cycle but slowly thick tears rolled down his plates. Terminus pulled Megatronus close, planting a kiss on his helm.  
“Please don’t let your hate control you, my son.”

* * *

He paused the recording rubbing the back of his helm, his tanks turned as the tension in the air didn’t dissipate. Every inch of his frame was ready to move, and yet he stared back at the faded red optics. “What does this have to do with the war?”  
Megatron’s unreadable expression didn’t waver. “Everything.”  
Optimus vented shaking his helm. “I don’t understand it.”  
“You will.” Megatron rumbled.  
“Okay…” He looked down at his notes and back up at Megatron. “Your real name is Megatronus?”  
“Terminus wanted to name me after something strong, durable, he thought of a story his own creators used to tell him with a hero named ‘Megatronus’.”  
“Huh.” He skimmed over his notes, stopping at a designation. “Kup, your grand creators served under Kup Minor?”  
“Of course, Kup is one of the oldest mechs on Cybertron, if you can get Kup and Alpha Trion into the same room they’ll have whole stories told in ancient Cybertronian.”  
“Interesting.” Optimus rolled his plates and pressed play on the datapad, gesturing to the warlord. “Go on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up next chapter is going to get dark.  
And the nest chapter's title is a reference to the movie that gave me this idea! (I highly doubt anyone is going to know the movie but hey, why not!?)


	3. The Heart Machine Broke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baby Megatron goes on an adventure with his loving sire, and the weird homeless mech that appears and vanishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So is Terminus was good sire?  
Who is this beggar?  
Finally the whole drowning pit, and a good part of this fic is heavily inspired by and old movie, any one got any ideas? (It's old, black and white, German)

“Do you want to disrespect your ancestors?” Terminus snapped glaring at Megatronus from across their small studio hab.  
Megatronus sunk on the old box pulling his knees up and hugging them, unable to meet his sire’s optics. He waited as he always did, sitting by the old fountain and watched the mechs return home, but once again he crept towards the hole in the wall and peered in. Terminus caught him again. “No, sir.”  
Terminus vented deeply, the whole world rumbled as he did. “Okay, tomorrow is my break, we’re going on a trip.” He rolled his peds.  
“A trip?”  
His sire nodded. “We’re going to visit an old friend.”  
  
Megatronus clung to Terminus’ ped, watching his sire limp across the square, no other mechs were out, many of them were warmly tucked into their berths. Meanwhile, he shivered at the cold, the mines were shut down during the night cycle and the lack of heat left the underground units freezing. Not even the sky lighting was turned on. Only the dull orange mining lights that hung off the walls lit the darkness.   
Terminus’ servo took Megatronus’. “I’m not angry, I’m scared.” He didn’t face Megatronus, the dull clank of his poor knees echoed back at them. They crossed the square and stopped at an alleyway, Terminus pulled out two tarps, handing one to Megatronus and wrapping himself up in one. He then pulled out a small old lantern holding it up in the darkness of the alleyway. Terminus vented as another lantern was held up, the other flickered on and off, Terminus mumbled under his breath. He did the same, handing the lantern to Megatronus. “Come,” He wrapped a servo around Megatronus’ shoulder as they stepped into the darkness.   
A gentle mist rose up from the ground, engulfing them, Megatronus held the lantern close to his spark, holding his vents as the other lantern grew closer and closer. A faint tinge of fear ran up his back struts as he started to make out a face. The mech was old, his plates dragged down, his helm was thin and long, a beard far longer than Megatronus’ whole frame. He had dull blue optics that shone, his shoulders slouched, his frame was thin and it looked like a gust of wind could knock the mech over.  
Megatronus recognized the mech, it was the beggar that was always on the corner, he never saw the mech stand up, thinking he lost a leg or something. But here he saw the mech who he truly was, it scared him.  
“This is the bitlet?” The beggar's voice was hollow, there was a slight accent to his vocalizer, but one Megatronus couldn’t place.  
“Yes,” Terminus nodded pushing Megatronus forward.  
“No one saw you?”  
“No one.”  
“Good.” The mech turned around holding up the lantern slipping into the darkness.  
Megatronus looked up to his Sire who only nodded as they too disappeared. The cold ground below them crunched with each step they took, the heating was off during the night cycle. Megatronus could barely see in front of him, he had yet to develop the night vision his sire and most miners had. Terminus and the beggar didn’t say a word as they approached an old rusty door, the beggar's thin servos cranked the massive wheel until there was a subtle hiss and the door creaked open. The air was stale and smelled of rust, Megatronus covered his faceplates. The beggar pushed the door open and stepped carefully inside, offering a servo to Megatronus then to Terminus.   
Megatronus had never seen this part of his home before, the lantern only lit a small area but as far as he could tell this was a tunnel. There were mining rails on the floor, old pickaxes, and drills. A thick layer of orange dust clung to everything, some of it hung off of the ceiling.  
“Watch your step.” The beggar mumbled passing Megatronus, strange that he glided over the floor his tarp hiding his plating. Megatronus swallowed his fear and vented, following the beggar and forcing himself to get used to the stench. They passed a few stations to the side, each one had a few elevators and stairs. Terminus didn’t allow him to explore, only herding him away.  
They stopped at a bigger station, tarps covered it but the beggar held open one of the tarps letting them pass. It was darker in here, Megatronus clutched the lantern tightly and turned up the purple flame. He missed the comforting servo of his sire on his back, yet Terminus’ peds dragged behind him. His sire’s helm drooped and his plating was pale and Megatronus noticed how deep his baggy plating was.   
“Sire?” He placed a servo on Terminus’ knee.  
“Keep moving.” he rumbled.  
The beggar nodded holding up his lantern as they approached another door, this time the door made a horrible squeal that pierced his hearing. The door didn’t open, the beggar backed away, Terminus stepped forward and punched the center of the rusty door. The deafening scream of the hinges breaking echoed in the tunnel.  
They wandered further into the darkness, dust gently fell around them as they pressed forward. Megatronus stopped as his ped hit something, he looked up to see a rusty statue, it was a femme standing proudly, sword in servo, helm high. He brushed off the dust and started to read the plaque but was pulled away by Terminus.  
** Athena Warrior of the Pits**  
“No time little one.” Terminus mumbled, his voice sounded so tired, so old, hollow, almost like the beggars.  
The beggar continued forward finally stopping at two massive doors, tiny trinkets and old energon cubes lied about the doors. He could make out faint pedsteps, some were old and large, miners, others were thin and far smaller, those were more common and newer. A massive chain hung between the doors, sealing them in place. An old padlock kept the chains together, the beggar pulled out a key, shoving it into the lock and popping it open. The heavy chains fell away and the doors groaned open.  
Megatronus followed quickly reading some of the writing written into the walls and ground.   
He paused looking up into the blinding skylight, just like the ones back in the square.  
The beggar passed him resting his thin servos against a door, he vented, it wasn’t a calm vent. His vent wheezed, it was thick and wet like he was struggling to just vent.  
“You don’t need to my friend.” Terminus spoke up.  
“No,” The beggar steadied himself. “I need to, I should've been there, I couldn’t so now I can be here. No matter how much of a coward I am.” He pushed the door open.  
The smell grew thicker and thicker, it wasn’t just the metallic grimy rust smell but it was cold and moisture-filled Megatronus’ vents. Then there was smell Megatronus had never smelled before, it was cold, it made his back struts shiver and his tanks numb.  
“Come...come my sparkling.” Terminus passed him, letting the beggar go first, then stepped into the strange room.  
Megatronus waited a moment trying to vent, something was wrong. He looked around feeling smaller and smaller by the spark beat, his tiny digits curled around the handle of the lantern. He watched the purple flame dance for him, gathering what little courage he had he swallowed his fear and lifted a ped towards the door.  
He stepped into the room. “H-hello?” he called out, holding the lantern up, the purple flame reflected off of the two tarps. Megatronus slowly walked down the rickety stairs, taking each step at a time, not once taking his optics off of the tarps. The smell grew stronger and stronger with each step. He finally reached Terminus and the beggar, both of them were hunched over, mumbling something that he couldn’t make out. Megatronus looked over the steps looking down into the darkness. The whole room was flooded, not with water but a thicker faint green liquid, he set the lantern down. Peering over the edge, the smell grew stronger as he looked into the waters. Something was down there. Megatronus pushed his lantern forward turning the purple flame as bright as he could before gazing back into the water.  
There was something down there, there was a lot of things, they were running up the stairs climbing over one another. His tanks sunk, they weren’t things they were mechs, covered in rust, lifeless. He screamed and crawled back from the edge kicking the lantern in his panic as he climbed into Terminus’ lap. He hugged his sire and hid his helm into the familiar plating. “S-sire?”  
Terminus vented. “This is what happens when you disobey, this was a unit much like our own, they rebelled and…”  
The beggar gasped choking out a sob. “They drowned the families, no one was spared, sparklings, femmes, carrying mechs.” He stopped as washer fluid dripped down his long face and his beard.   
Megatronus looked back into the waters, his spark plummeting to the very bottom of the pits.  
His body seized and went into an emergency shutdown.   
  
The faint crackling of fire woke him, but he didn’t dare move as the memories resurfaced. The rusty mechs, the endless pool, the smell of death.  
“I understand your concern Terminus but...he’s a little young.”  
“No, he’s not, he won’t have our foolishness, I refuse to let that happen again.”  
“You still blame yourself don’t you?”  
“How can I not, but you do too don’t you?”  
“Yes, admittedly I don't come down here that often, upstairs needs me too much, but...I should’ve done something. Primus! I had power, I have power! And… I let it happen.”  
Terminus vented. “At least you weren’t leading them, you didn’t break the heart machine, you weren’t the fool.”   
The beggar sobbed. “But...I could’ve warned you, evacuated, I could’ve...I could have had my family if I wasn’t so…”  
“Stop, I can’t, not again.” Terminus rumbled, it wasn’t the calming rumble Megatronus knew by a spark it was wet, he was crying.  
They didn’t talk for a while, Megatronus wondered if he should say something but didn’t as the beggar spoke up again.  
“How old is he? 7-8 solar cycles?”  
“No, he’s 8.”  
“8...Primus, Terminus.”  
“Don’t.”  
“I didn’t think you’d have another after…”  
“I didn’t.”  
Megatronus froze, his spark in his intake.  
“He’s not mine, I found him half-frozen in an alley, he was small, too small to be healthy.”  
“He’s tough. They’re getting younger and younger, carriers and sires.”  
“They’re not ready for this.”  
“You weren’t.”  
“I don’t think I’ll ever be, but...I’m proud of him.”

* * *

“No,” Optimus set the datapad down, his intake pulling down into a frown. “Are you implying that...the council of old Cybertron drowned a whole...unit of miners?” He crossed his arms and met Megatron with a fiery glare.  
Megatron didn’t counterattack with his own glare, instead, his optics were drooping and held this certain sadness to them. “Yes.”  
“There’s no record of it.”   
“Who would want to keep that in a record. All those mechs screaming as their habs were flooded, carriers and sparklings running towards the only exit. Screaming and climbing over one another only to find that the only hope for escape was welded shut. Sucking in their last vents and holding it the door would open. The sparklings crying as they didn’t understand the madness around them, old mechs only frozen in fear as their sparks were snuffed out. No council would want to have any record of it.”  
The whole story kept Optimus on edge, his back structs ached from the tension in them, his spark beat racing far faster than Blurr. “So they just hid this mass murder?”  
Megatron vented. “Yes.”  
“And that… ‘carriers and sires getting younger and younger’?”  
“You’ll find out.”  
“Why did Terminus raise you? If you weren’t his own?” Optimus knew the answer but he couldn’t believe it.  
“His family drowned while he leads a rebellion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terminus is an okay dad, he's not great and mostly lets fear dictate his life.  
I'm not telling you who the beggar is but it's not an OC, or some random character who only a few people know (trust me you know who he is).  
It's Metropolis, I watched a 3 hour movie and it freaked me out. The underground city flooding, that shit gave me chills.  
Also thank you to everyone who filled out my poll! <3 It's still up till 11/21, so go ahead and fill it out if you haven't!   
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdYyHFwBds8637C0H2pUEWU8c6XEdDAwRBrv2JyT-HHC4R41w/viewform?usp=sf_link


	4. ~*Special Chapter: Dive*~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thicc lipped bitch goes on a adventure!

Optimus packed everything away for the cycle, the guards had yet come to collect Megatron. The air between them was thick with unanswered questions and electric tension that could kill a lesser mech.

Megatron rumbled behind the thick glass, leaning back in his ‘chair’. “I have my own question to ask you, Optimus. How is it that a mech with such skill so far from Cybertron when you should be defending it?”

Optimus vented, closing a case and pushing it into his subspace. “I guess it doesn’t matter. We were repair bots send to fix the outer ring of Space Bridges.” He finally turned to face Megatron who for his credit could have half his frame melted and still have a sly grin on his face, instead the warlord’s face was an utter surprise.

“Repair bots?” His tone didn’t hold the rich seductive sound as it usually did.

“Yes, we’re repair bots.” 

Megatron frowned, confused, trying to mentally connect the dots. “How...Repair bots?”

“Yes, Megatron,” Optimus groaned, strange that he wasn’t as tense now as he was a few klicks ago.

“Your team consisted of one of the most famous medics in Cybertronian history, a ninja bot that trained with Yorktron, the best space bridge mechanic, the most infuriating scout, a human, and a-” He gestured to Optimus.

“No, it was an old medic, a cranky ninja, and three elitle guard dropouts.” He pushed in his chair gesturing that whatever Megatron was trying to get him to say wasn’t going to work. “I must admit, we were a great team.”

Megatron snorted. “You took down me. You’re a dropout? What are they asking for guards these days? Bigger chins?”

“I don’t want to discuss this with you,” He snapped, folding his arms, grabbing everything else that he had out and swiftly turning to leave.

“She told me everything, Optimus.” Megatron said as the doors closed behind him.

“Fragger.” Optimus hissed.

He stopped at an intersection watching the red light, funny that Earth had the exact same system. Optimus watched as mechs drove past him, thinking about what Megatron said.

_ The pool. _

Optimus flicked on his blinker and turned left, driving towards the ruins. The ruins had been there since he was sparked, when he was in the academy Sentinel and Elita would take him there. When Elita…’passed’ he spent hours there trying to clear his helm. He rolled up to them, recognizing the twisted structures. He finally stopped, changing into his root-mode, he stared up at the twisted tower, a sinking feeling settled in his tanks.

Optimus wandered through the ruins, kicking away scraps, old datapads thicker then his servo, bitlet toys, old metal prints. He used to think it was cool to find little treasures here, but it always felt wrong to take them. Now they just made him sad.

A chilly breeze hit him, he shivered and stepped into another building, a dull thud sounded under him. Optimus froze moving his ped and kicking aside the scrap. Then yanking back a really dusty carpet, uncovering a hatch. “Holy shit.” His battle mask snapped into place as he pulled out his axe and started to pry it open. The stale air slammed into him and made his optics water. Optimus turned on his lights and took a deep vent, grabbing hold of the ladder and descending.

It was massive, the underground stretched for miles and miles, the tunnels, shafts all interweaving much like the roots of a tree. The air was stale and carried a rusty smell, it was freezing. Optimus continued down a tunnel dragging his axe handle behind, leaving a trail incase he got lost.

There was graffiti on the walls, old energex bottles thrown around, he couldn’t go down certain tunnels due to cave ins. He stopped at an intersection of tunnels, the roof fell in and in the middle of it was a bomb. The bomb was the same size as him, hopefully it was a dud. He continued on, spotting one of those stations Megatron mentioned. He pried the door open looking in but he didn’t spot the femme statue, he left it. 

Optimus passed another station, checked for the statue and left. Then another, and another. “They were living like rats.” He pried open another door, halting as the air wasn’t so stale, but there was the smell of rust. Optimus held his vents, hearing something, a slight clacking. “Hello?” He called out, and he thought the clacking stopped. “Is someone there?”

It was still as he looked down at the tall hab units covered in a thick layer of dust. Optimus left the door open, not bothering to close it.

Finally the next station door opened with a loud clunk as the door fell off. He shined his light in and spotted a dusty statue. “This is it, the pool.” He stepped in his intake tightening. Optimus stopped in front of the statue, brushing off the plaque.

**Athena Warrior of the Pits**

He frowned as the rest of the writing was covered in a green jelly.

There was a faint thump that came from the ‘open’ door.

Optimus lifted up his axe looking around. “Hello?” His back structs tightened, but all he could hear was the white noise and the beating of his own spark. He waited, nothing. “Clam down Optimus, they were exiled, you’re alone down here.” Maybe he should’ve asked Bumblebee to come with him, that mech would’ve brightened the mood. Optimus turned towards the two massive doors. Millions of ped steps little dust, tiny trinkets and crystal flowers were placed with love and care. He picked up one of the aluminum plates. His spark sank as he read it, then another plate, and another. “This is it.” He said setting the plates down so softly that they didn’t make a sound. Optimus stood up and rested a servo on the doors, the thick chains hung heavily. 

He grit his denta. “I need to see it.” He hissed swinging his axe and breaking the chains. The smell hit him, it was thick, grimy and sickening, it was rust.

There was another thub, closer this time.

Optimus swung around holding his axe up. “It’s just some rats, just Earth rats on Cybertron.” Besides no mech could live down here, not in this pit. “Don’t even think about Sari’s ghost stories.” He said to himself, turning back to the door. His lights cut through the darkness, reflecting weakly off of the thick green liquid, he could see the tops of the hab units. With a shaky servo he clutched the stairwell’s railing and took his first step. The stairs groaned with his weight. Optimus took another step and another, looking at the miles and miles of green water, the pool. It bubbled in some areas, there were also small pools of orange and purple. He forced his back structs to steady as a rusty frame sat eerily close, normally their frames couldn’t float, that ment that frame had something holding it up. He hoped it was the hab units.

Then the step broke under his weight. Optimus screamed as he fell on his aft and down a few steps, slamming into a rusty statue of a mech. He screamed again at the corpse. He tried to crawl up the steps, then the steps broke under his weight. He was plunged into the green liquid. 

The shock hit him first, his limbs locking up from the sudden temperature change. Optimus forced his limbs to work, trying to swim but then again only a few seafaring mechs were meant to swim. He kicked at the liquid feeling it grab onto his plates and sink between them. He yanked his arm free and shot his grappling hook, grabbing hold of the rusty railing, with a strong yank the railing came flying back almost hitting him in the helm. Panic flooded his wires as the water started to seep into his vents.

“Frag!” There was some stomping above from the stairs that remained, a silhouette hovered over him. “Give me your servo!” He yelled.

Optimus gasped trying to push himself out of the pool and grab the massive servo but only grazed the digits. He panicked heaving his axe up and throwing the handle into the mech’s servo, he held onto the blade. 

The mech heaved him up, his back struts creaking as Optimus escaped the pool. 

He was tossed through the twin doors his axe bounced away from him, he sat up, clearing his vents and spitting up chunks of green water.

An old miner stumbled through the doors. “The frag are you doing?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thicc lipped bitch almost mcfucking died!


	5. In Pit I’ll Be In Good Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Megatronus is having a wonderful time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good job Terminus, you traumatized your child, and started a WAR! Good for you.  
Also unedited, it's too late to give a dam, merry Starscream!

He sat on the fountain like always, swinging his peds and listening to the other mechlings play. Humming a tune his sire would hum late into the cycle, with a piece of scrap he wrote his name into the dirt, again and again.

**MEGATRONUS**

**MEGATRONUS**

**MEGATRONUS**

He waited like always, excitement filled his frame as quitting time grew closer, he couldn’t wait to see his sire. The miners left early this cycle, some of them didn’t even recharge, speaking about the Heart Machine and upstairs. He waved at his sire as the miners ventured forward to the upstairs.

He wasn’t sure when they would be back but they should be back at the end of their work cycle. The bell was silent in the square, there was no comforting banging in the mine shafts, the lifts sat lifeless.

All was quiet.

Then he heard it, coming from the lifts, down the mine shafts, something was coming. A faint roar rose up. He thought nothing of it, just miner equipment starting up as they returned to work. Once again he tore into the dirt writing his name, humming.

Then there was a faint trickel, a lazy stream of green water rolled towards him, soaking into the dirt at his peds. 

Confusion flooded his processor as his optics followed the water, tracking it to the lifts, he gasped as more water sloshed upwards. He glanced down at his name.

**MEGATRON**

**MEGATRON**

**MEGATRON**

**MEGATRON**

**MEGATRON**

More water poured out of the lifts, his spark jumped into his intake as he screamed, trying to warn everyone. His voice never left his intake, mechs shuffled around not even noticing the water, he screamed louder and jumped onto the fountain. Pointing towards the lifts and trying to get any mech’s attention. Nothing.

Panic ran through his wires as he rushed towards the bell, climbing up the high steps. He grabbed the lever and yanked it as hard as he could, the bell didn’t sound. The water was rising, puddles were forming, pickaxes were drifting upwards. His optics watered as he fought with the lever, using his weight, all of his strength to just sound a bell. He even climbed on top of it and jumped on the lever, using words he only heard his sire mumble.

Then the lever gave way.

The bell howled, mechs, sparklings and mechlings stopped, finally noticing the water.

They scrambled out of their habs, out of the units, mechs grabbed their sparklings and mechlings. He joined them as they flew towards the emergency stairs, his legs weren’t big enough for the stairs but that didn’t matter as a massive arm grabbed him. Instantly he was swept up in his carrier’s iron grasp, they ran up the stairs. He clung to his carrier looking over the mech’s massive shoulder and watching as their city was engulfed by the water.

They were almost to the top, and hope filled his spark, the crying and screaming would stop soon.

At the top mechs stopped, yanking on the door, trying to pry it open, some slammed their whole frame into it. The door was sealed.

He held onto his carrier, feeling the washer fluid dripped down his face plates, watching the water rise and rise. Mechs were already being swallowed up by it, their frames turning gray, a few frames drifted in the green water, dead. He turned away as a sparkling cried as their frame was dragged under, their systems flooding with water and snuffing their spark. He buried his helm into his carrier’s chest, listening to their spark beat, a comforting servo rested on him.

The water rose up, the screams lessened, the corposes grew.

He gasped as he felt the cold water sink between his plates, between his wires, his systems. His fans stalled, his protoform froze and his frame shivered in a feeble attempt to keep warm. His tiny digits clung to his carrier’s plating as his processor slowed, he cried as his frame turned gray and his spark hurt. A moment later his spark was snuffed, his tiny frame joined the others. 

Megatronus grumbled sitting up, the same nightmare again, he always woke up first, Terminus was recharging more and more. He got up and made himself a hot cube of energon, then another for Terminus who was now waking up.

Terminus sat forward yawning and cleaning out his vents, he grumbled taking his cube. “Thanks.” His sire stared off and narrowed his yellow optics, deep in his processor. 

Megatronus sat on the floor pulling his legs up to his chest and sipping his cube. He stared at Terminus’ rusty joints, his orange peds and bad knees. He wished there was something he could do.

Terminus pulled himself up tapping Megatronus with his ped. “Come, it’s time I started showing you the mines.”

Megatronus blinked, he was at the right age, about 10 solar cycles. “Am I going to be a tunnel rat?”

Terminus frowned. “Don’t use that term down there, the miners don’t like it.” He tapped Megatronus on the shoulder. “The sooner we start the sooner we recharge.”

He followed his sire down the lift and clung to Terminus’ rusty ped, looking up at the other miners. They crowded into the lift each one towering over him, some spared a glance at him others simply pushed in. With a loud creak the lift started to descend, Megatronus inched closer to his sire, looking up as the light faded away. His spark sunk and he felt silvers run through his wires. For awhile he was in darkness and all he heard the soft rumbling of the miner’s venting. Terminus placed a servo on his shoulder just before the lift jerked to a stop.

Yellow and orange lights shone through the mines giving everything a warm but still uneasy feeling. The miners shuffled off down certain tunnels, Terminus gave him a light shove and they stepped off the lift. Megatronus followed his sire to the biggest tunnel. Inside there was a shack, it was hobbled together with old drills, plates and even some crystals. Megatronus stepped inside instantly greeted with a shower of sparks as an old mech swung his hammer down on a piece of plating. 

He stopped looking up at Megatronus, a piece of burning energon sticking out of his intake, the mech vented it in and out. He stood up and looked down at Megatronus. “Small.”

Terminus stepped in behind Megatronus.

“Terminus?” The mech blinked, one of his optics was cracked.

Terminus nodded resting a servo on Megatronus’ helm. 

The mech huffed shaking his helm and turning away. “Age?”

“10.”

The mech spun around and looked at Megatronus again, kneeling down and staring at him. That’s when Megatronus saw the weld mark, his throat had an ugly weld on it. The mech frowned. “Small.”

Megatronus looked up at Terminus. “Sire what’s wro-”

“One.” The mech cut him off. “Word.” He winched and rubbed his throat. “At.” His optics watered. “A.” He stopped taking a moment, venting. “Time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Megatronus bowed his helm.

“Fine.” The mech rumbled leaning back and looking into his shelves, pulling out a few plates, all bright yellow. He kneeled down, placing a thick plated helm piece on top of Megatronus. “Tight?”

“Comfortable.”

He then placed another piece on Megatronus’ shoulder and another, adding yellow plates to his chest, back, peds, arms and finally placing two lights on his helm. He vented sitting back on his small stool. “Heavy?”

Megatronus walked around in a tight circle. “Yes.” 

He vented patting Megatronus on the helm. “Okay,”

Terminus frowned. “Is that all?”

“Yes.” The mech nodded. “Good.” He picked up a few plates here and there. “Luck.”

Megatronus followed Terminus out of the shack, they climbed down a tunnel, then another and another. Passing other mech hard at work. Finally Terminus stopped. He picked up a pick axe and handed it to Megatronus. At first Megatronus struggled to lift the massive tool, but once he spread his peds a bit and squeezed the handle in his servos did he lift it with ease. He proudly smiled up at Terminus, optics gleaming. Terminus patted his shoulder, his frown only dragging down. “Okay, now aim for the purple veins.” Terminus pointed to the dark purple lines that waved through the tunnel.

Megatronus nodded pushing up his heavy helm and spinning around, raising the axe. The dull clank echoed in the tunnel, mixing with other clanks.

“That’s enough.” Terminus said setting his massive drill down, resting on a boulder.

Megatronus blinked the dirt off of his optics, propping his huge axe against the wall. “Will I get a smaller axe?”

Terminus shook his helm. “Afraid not little one.” He scooped up Megatronus in one servo plopping him down on his rusty knee. “You’ll grow into it.” He vented.

“Oh,” Megatronus stared at his axe, seeing the worn handle, the scratched blade, he wondered how many other servos held it? “Why am I here?”

“You’re old enough to mine, but not old enough to stay the whole cycle.” Terminus pulled on one of his chest plates pulling out an old datapad. “However, I think you’re old enough for this too.” He handed Megatronus a data pad, smiling his first smile of the whole cycle. “It’s yours, write, read, do what you want with it. No more doodling in the dirt.”

Megatronus beamed looking up at the old miner. “Thank you!”

Terminus chuckled. “Alright you little bitlet, now go on get.” He shooed Megatronus away.

Megatronus ran out of the tunnel, up the stairs, past the shack and to the lifts, he got onto the smallest one just as it started to move. He jumped out holding his datapad gently as the made his way back home.

“ARE WE NOT EQUAL!?”

Megatronus skidded to a stop, turning towards the massive crack in the wall, his spark sinking. Terminus told him to never go in there, but what were they talking about? He stared down at his stracky reflection before tip toeing into the crack. One little peek couldn’t hurt? 

It was dark but old lanterns lit the stairs, slowly he descended down them. 

“Why do we have to stay down here? Scavenging while they get to live up there?”

Megatronus came to a stop, spotting a mech he had never seen before, hardly a mech, a mechling only getting use to his plates. He sunk back and hid behind a massive plate with engravings on it.

“We control the energon, we can overthrow them, we can make it equal.” The mech continued. “Look around you, half of you are old, the other half was young,”

He sat with his back struts to the speaker, holding his datapad on his legs, staring at his reflection. He was young, so young that his face plates were still soft and squishy. He was too young to be in the mines.

“Come together, rise up!”

**Rise up**

He didn’t even know he wrote it in the dirt. Suddenly the mechs started to leave, quietly, Megatronus held his vents and scurried off and out of the crypts.

Much larger peds stopped behind the tombstone, a mech with deep red optics looked down into the dirt. “A writer, interesting.” 

* * *

“Okay so...who is that?” Optimus set his datapad down taking a sip from his cube.

“Megazarak.” Megatron said shaking his helm, as if he was reeling back from his sparkling hood. 

“So you started to have nightmares of the flood, started working in the mines at the age of?”

“10 solar cycles.” His optics were dull, and for once he looked much older than what he was. 

“And you met this…’Megazarak’?” He read all the records they had on the war, but never did the name ‘Megazarak’, come up.

Megatron vented, rolling his optics. “Not suprised, the Autobots like to keep their records one sided, they blame the whole war on me. However there was a leader before me, Megazarak.” 

“Okay,” Optimus relaxed into his chair. “Well what was he like?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Megazarak is in the house!


	6. Dig The Devil’s Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terminus is getting old, so is Megatronus.

The cool steel handle fit perfectly, his digits sinking into the grooves, venting out then in and holding that vent as he heaved the drill up and propped it on his waist. Megatronus finally vented and activated the drill, listening to the whirl of water and metal before he pressed it into a vein. He got there first, before Terminus, and most of the other workers. 

Some mech whistled down his tunnel. “Damn mech, hardly into your hard plates and lifting an adult drill.”

“What? Slag, you’re pull- oh frag, he is.” Another mech joined in.

Megatronus felt his spark burn and grinned, he was proud of his work, proud that he was strong, smart and cunning. Their tunnel got deeper and deeper every cycle, and production tripled with Megatronus there, even if he was there for only half a cycle.

Terminus climbed in and slapped his shoulder. “Wanna slow down?” He smirked picking up his own drill.

“Why?” 

“When you’re my age, you'll understand.” Terminus grumbled heaving up his own drill and starting on some bedrock.

They didn’t talk much in the mines, only listened to the endless echos, the grinding of drill, grunts of mechs, clunks of metal fell. It was odd, the whole mine has this deep rhythm, it was unsteady and would break apart at times but it was there. What really sold it was the singing.

* * *

“No,” Optimus held up his servo. “No you’re not.”

“What?” Megatron blinked and pouted.

“You’re not spending our valuable time singing some miner...shanty.” He rubbed his helm and reset his optics.

“I have a good voice.” Megatron added, frowning.

“This isn’t some pirate ship where everyone is drunk and singing shanties,” Optimus snapped crossing his arms. “Besides everyone on Cybertron knows you have a good voice.”

“What does that mean?” Megatron purred.

Optimus swore that that Primus was testing him. “You...Have a very...attractive voice.”

“Do I?” His voice got deeper.

He hated how his frame locked up all but his back struts, they quivered. 

“So I really have a…  _ Attractive  _ voice?” Somehow it got deeper.

“That’s enough,” Optimus spat out between clenched denta. 

“Really, is it? Little Prime?”

Optimus cleared his processor and vented, crossing his legs. “So, every cycle yo-”

“I’ve made mechs overload with just my voice you know.” His optics locked with Optimus’, his velvety voice cutting through the air.

“FINE! SING THE DAMN MINER SHANTY!” He slapped his servo down and heard his fans click on.

* * *

Throughout the mine, miners sang, “They said Dig in deeper boys dig the Devil's blood dig it deeper down til you see no heaven above and when you sleep tonight with that black dust in your lungs You'll be dreaming of ......... the Devil's blood”

Megatronus joined in, some mechs whistled others hummed, he sang.

The shanty made each cycle pass quicker, and before Megatronus knew it Terminus patted his shoulder and pulled him into a tight hug. 

“Don’t work too hard, okay?” Megatronus said as he was picked up, Terminus’ struts whined.

“I won’t little one.” Terminus set him down, and shook his helm and shoved him off. “Now get out of here!”

Megatronus watched as Terminus picked his drill back up, turning away from him, rust spots littered his peds, his knees, and back. He didn’t want to leave just yet, only shuffled back into the main tunnel, he grabbed a cube of energon and sat with a few mechs. One of them slapped his back, Diamond Neck.

“Pit mech, never seen someone work so hard.” He laughed and sipped his cube.

“Thanks,” Megatronus sipped his own cube, trying to make it last as his tanks rumbled.

“You know, the least the surface can do is lend us a fully trained medic, or vaccinate us.” The older mech started turning towards Pick.

“Well what do you expect?” Pick added. “They don’t care, see us as replaceable.” He huffed.

Diamond Neck shook his helm. “All of this? You know we used to craft everything up there? Build the roads, the buildings. Not only that but we were gladiators once, some of us even flew, and went off world.”

Megatronus opened his intake but shut it as the foreman grumbled, rushing past them and holding the side of his helm. Diamond Neck and Pick didn’t say anything for awhile, they mumbled something about Primus just as the foreman returned carrying a gray and orange frame back, his helm low. “Too long, too old.” He said setting the mech down on a lift. The foreman spun around turning towards the deeper part of the mine. The same path Megatronus took to get to their tunnel, his spark sunk as he got to his peds.

Pick caught him and shook his helm. “Don’t, you don’t need to go back to work.”

Megatronus hissed and spun out of the old miner’s servo, he then bolted down the tunnel, left, right, left, left, middle. He slowed to a stop and started to crawl as he reached the entrance of their tunnel. He curled up behind a bolder and covered his intake.

“Terminus.”

“Axle.” Terminus rumbled, his intake wheezed as he spoke.

“I told you, leave when you can.” Axle said.

“You did...was it old Coal?”

“Yes, he’s younger than you, you’re officially the oldest mech in the mines.” Axle hissed and flopped down on a bolder.

“So?”

“Look at this tunnel, then look at that tunnel, and that one, Primus you even worked on the main tunnel. Terminus you shouldn’t be down here.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, listen to yourself, look at your plates, they’re almost orange now, your vents and intakes are getting clogged with dust.”

Terminus slammed a drill down, and for once he sounded pissed. “Don’t, I have a mouth to feed and I’m not failing this time.” He snapped.

Megatronus jumped as Axle wasn’t pushed, or shoved, but thrown out of Terminus’ tunnel, their optics met and Axle turned away with a bleeding lip. He waited to hear the whirl of the drill, and peered in. Terminus snarled as the drill didn’t cut through the bed rock, instead he picked up his old and dull axe and slammed it down, instantly a whole sheet of rock fell. But the axe slowed after awhile and Terminus huffed, falling on hif aft, his movements slow, his vents wheezing and his plates creaking. “Damn it Terminus, you’re wearing yourself out.”

* * *

Optimus interrupted Megatron, pausing the recording. “It was...scary wasn’t it?”

“Watching someone who one could pick me up and carry me with ease slowly weaken over time? Yes.” Megatron’s sly mood from before faded away, his optics grew dark and he looked at his servos. “I left him, when the movement picked up speed, I tried to get him to come with us, but…”

“He said no didn’t he?” Optimus turned away, he understood what it was like to see someone you thought could hold Cybertron on their back. 

Optimus spent cycles, who Earth years fighting Megatron, he saw this mech take anything, even a Supreme blow up and Megatron didn’t even flinch. But here Megatron’s optics watered, his face dragged, his shoulders sagged. “I should’ve taken him with us, knocked his stubborn aft out and dragged him along.”

Optimus gave them a few clicks to vent, process. “I...I’m sorry.”

Megatron laughed. “Comforting from the mech who handed me my own aft.”

* * *

Megatronus paused staring up at the hab units, his optics drifting down, down, and to the left. To the dark crack in the wall. He was torn, Terminus always told him to never go down there, never follow the mechs down there, to ignore the hushed words between miners. Then again. “Only sires tell their bitlets what to do, not like he can tell me what to do.” Megatronus glanced over his shoulder then shuffled to the wall and towards the crack. 

He stepped in and shivered at the cold air, shut his vents as he crept down the stairs, passing tomb stones covered in dust. Megatronus froze as an older mech sat under an old miner lamb. Odd, the mech was only a little bit older than Megatronus, he looked like he just got his adult plates. The mech froze and looked at him, he smiled. “Hello.”

“Hi,” Megatronus waved and descended the steps.

“Haven’t seen you around.”

“I’m not suppose to come down here.” He vented.

“Ah, smart, worrisome sire, or carrier?”

“Sire,” Megatronus sat. 

The mech shrugged. “So what can I do for ya?” He shrugged and fell back onto a dusty throne.

He hesitated, looking down at his dirt covered servos, feeling the tension in his frame, then imagining that same tension on Terminus' frame. His slowly oranging frame. “I wanted to ask you, some questions.”

“Oh, well come in, come in.” He waved Megatronus in and gestured to some of the other makeshift seats around.

Megatronus sat in the smallest one, hearing it creak under his weight. “I wanted to know what you speak about.”

“Ah,” he mech hummed. “I speak about the social class structure and how we’re suppressed (literally) by the upper clivilain classes.”

“Wait, ‘suppressed’? In what way?”

The mech frowned. “You, wait, you know what ‘suppressed’ means?”

Megatronus nodded. “I mean it’s not a difficult word, and besides it’s nothing too uncommon to read. Why?”

The mech was dumbfounded, utterly bewildered. “Read?”

“Yes.” Megatronus nodded. “And write.”

“Oh holy slag, why haven’t I met you before?” The mech jumped up took Megatronus’ servo and yanked him up and out of his seat with ease. “Megazarak.”

“Uh, Megatronus.”

“Ha! Just a couple of ‘Megs’ here.” Megazarak laughed, pulling Megatronus closer. “So, you know how to read and write?”

“Yes.” He nodded once again.

“Shocking, you can spell your name.”

“Yes, and your’s, I can write it, put it in a sentence and have it grammatically correct.” Megatornus huffed.

“Huh,” Megazarak fell back into his throne. “I think you’re the only mech here that knows how to read and write.”

“Well that’s just not true, my sire knows how to write and read, he taught me.” Megatronus crossed his arms.

“Yes, but why doesn’t anyone else know, your sire, what’s his name?”

“Terminus, why?”

Megazarak’s optics grew dark. “Terminus is the oldest mech in this whole place, well besides that weird beggar.” He hummed. “They stopped teaching miners to read or write after the rebellion, makes sense, old habits die hard.”

Megatronus fell back into his tiny chair, propping his helm up with his servos. “Okay, I know my sire...has made some mistakes but why discontinue learning?”

“You don’t know a lot about this world do you? And you’re what, 10 cycles?”

“12.”

“12?” Megazarak vents and rubs his helm. “Okay let me give you the dynamite run down: we’re a mining class mech, forced underground to mine energon for the richer classes above. There’s other classes and other mechs, such as warframes (like us but bigger and built to fight) two-wheelers (small fast mechs) and flight frames (clearly capable of flight). All of them are above.” He pointed up. “And I’m not joking, they are literally above us and have us under their peds pumping out fancy aged energon. We work our frames to the point of rusting, never seeing the sun, or enjoying luxuries.” Megazarak sat back, folded his servos and grinned. “I want to fix that.”

Megatronus processed the new found information, in fact he was sure his processor was freezing, the concept of a world above them, whatever the ‘sun’ was. Admittedly he wanted it, wanted to fly, dance with new mechs. “Do they have datapads?”

Megazarak snorted. “They have whole libraries full of them, buildings dedicated to reading. And that’s where you come into play.”

“What do you mean?”

Megazarak sat forward, lowering his helm to Megatronus’. “I want you to spread what I have to say,” He pointed up. “To them. I know we’re not the only class suppressed, and I know we,” He wrapped an arm around Megatronus’ shoulders, pulling him close. “Can make a difference.”

Megatronus paused, venting, his processor pulling him back to the flood, the screaming, the crying sparklings. Then the sound of old back struts broke apart his nightmare. “But,”

“What’s in it for you?” Megazarak hummed. “Anything, I have connections, a few favors, new optics? Done. New plates? Done.”

“I want my sire out of the mines and fixed up, I don’t want him to pick another drill or axe again.” Megatronus met Megazarak’s red optics, holding his vents.

“Done,” Megazarak offered his servo once again.

Megatronus took it, surprised by how strong the older mech was.

* * *

Optimus paused the recording again, cleared his intake. “So, you made a deal with him?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t see what’s so bad about Megazarak, he seems to have genuine concerts and aspirations for the greater good.”

“That’s what I believed too, but Megazarak was always a two faced mech, fancy words and kind optics can only fool someone for so long. I was block-helm to not notice it earlier.” Megatron growled, since the whole interview started this was the first time Optimus had ever seen the mech angry. 

“But…”

“His throne, he used the gravestones to make one, one that would sit Lugnut’s aft. The bastard never worked a day in the mines, hardly knew how to pick up a pick axe, would sneak off to some bar in Kaon and steal.” Megatron snapped, vented and regained his composure. “Optimus if I were to compare Megazarak to anyone to help you understand how much of a slag pile he was, I would compare him to Unicron or Beelzebub from that religious book those organics read.” He hissed.

“Well then.” He tapped the recorder again and readied his datapad. “Tell me more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the miner shanty:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lhr_tjkXn0  
I have been using a lot of musical references for this fic, would you guys like a play list or just have me post them at the end of each chapter?


	7. Tongues Wrapped in Smoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day in the thrilling life of Megatronus, the tiny cute miner that we'd all die for! <3

“Is it not fair to treat one as one would want to be treated? Why must we endure under the heavy ped of the mechs above?” Megazarak paused, rising to his peds. “Are we not worthy? Are we forced to hide under them? We’re not the only mech who suffer under the council, we aren’t alone. We can ban together and rise above!” He finished, reaching up towards the crypt ceiling. 

The miners cheered, mumbling to one another, energized by the thrilling speech, some shuffled out while a few stayed.

Megatronus sat in a corner, his digits flying over the datapad, he didn’t stop to edit until he reached the end. He rubbed his optics before jumping to the top and re-reading, editing as he scrolled down. Then he mumbled the text out as a final check, changing a few words here and there before saving it and grabbing a dataslug. He downloaded it, then another, and another, until he made a small neat little pile.

“You’re a hard worker.” Megazarak noted patting Megatronus’ helm.

“Thank you, here’s all the slugs.” He put them into a bag and handed them to Megazarak. He checked the time and gaped, jumping out and dashing out. “I’m late!” He scurried out of the crack and towards the lifts, shoving his frame in. Megatronus mentally screamed at himself, Terminus would lose it if he found out. It wasn’t the temper he was scared of but the disappointment. With a slight jerk they fell into the darkness, the familiar lines of orange lights lith the tunnels Megatronus rushed towards his own tunnel, he only waved at a few mechs before catching up to Terminus. The older miner’s right ped spun out while his left dragged across the dirt. Megatronus’ spark sank, he walked next to his sire.

“Didn’t see you this morning.” Terminus started, he slowed to pick up his drill, his servos were stiff from overuse.

“I needed to clear my helm on something, took a walk.” He shrugged picking up his own drill and aiming for a ripe vein.

“Ah, as long as you had your morning energon.” Terminus smiled before turning back to his wall and the whirl of their drills filled the cave.

Megatronus grid his denta, pushing his drill deep into the vein and chunks of energon flew out. Their tunnel was deep, but not too deep, strange that the other tunnels went on for what seemed forever. Mechs who mined cycles ago started them, and their descendants still mined in the same tunnels. Terminus started this tunnel, Megatornus often wondered how deep Terminus’ family unit tunnel was. 

He hissed as the energon stopped, a stuporn chunk of gold was in the way, he reached for his pickaxe and slammed it into the vein. With ease he yanked the gold out and tossed it aside. Nothing more than a nuisance. 

The ground shook there was shouting, screams and this deafening roar. Megatronus felt his spark stop, as the world around him blurred into one, wrapping an arm around Terminus and dashing out of the tunnel. They fell into a pile as the tunnels shook.

“Unicron is howling!” A mine shouted.

“GET INTO THE SUPPORT CAVES!” The older miners shouted. 

Megatornus stood up helping Terminus onto a boulder, twisting around to see a dark cloud rush towards them. His spark raced as the cloud engulfed the miners, he felt Terminus’ digits on his forearm. Slowly his optics steadied and he could see through the thick cloud, he could hear the screams, feel the panic and terror of the miners below. Megatronus shook in place, patting Terminus’ servo before yanking his arm away from his sire.

“Megatronus?” Terminus called. “Megatronus!”

Never before had he felt this terror when he was online, only when he was in recharge, and the heavy waves kept him under. Yet his peds were faster than the waves this time, he slowed to a stop, where the walls caved in. 

He leaned down towards a miner who was crushed under a beam. The miner clutched his helm, energon spilling out of his intake. “Young.” He choked out before his optics faded and his frame stopped.

A servo was pinned under another chunk, energon leaking from under.

“Help.” A weak voice called.

Megatronus turned towards a small miner, he laid helm first in the dirt. Megatronus rushed to his side, his digits digging between his plates and the rock that pinned him. He hissed as he lifted the rock and pushed the miner out from under. The miner was in half, his internal components were exposed, leaking. Megatronus froze, rolling the miner over, holding his helm.

The miner smiled. “Thank you.” He laughed looking down at his frame before slumping back in Megatonus’ arms. “Good.” He patted Megatornus’ shoulder.

“We’ll get you help, okay? You’ll get repairs.”

The miner laughed, shaking his helm, his optics flickering.

“Wait, hold on, I’ll get help, we can repair you, just hold on!”

“You...are...too...g-” He sputtered out before his frame jerked and then stiffened.

Megatronus felt numb, the cold didn’t bother him, neither did the yelling, or the mechs around him. It was only when a strong servo rested on his shoulder did he snap away from the waves. Terminus leaned down and pulled him into a tight hug, patting his back plates.

“It never gets easier.”

He didn’t feel any of it, all he could hear was the waves, rushing towards his tiny frame, crashing over him, pinning him to the floor. He fought and yet there was nothing he could do, he was trapped and his spark was fading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now here's my question for you, that dying miner was he going to say 'good' or 'gullible'?
> 
> I'm also going bat shit crazy updating a fuck ton of fics today, the 14th, you know the day that Sonic The Headgehog is in movie theaters, there's nothing else important about today.


	8. ~*Special Chapter: Spelunking*~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Optimus once again crawls around in the ruins of Kaon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big lipped bitch goes exploring thinking his ass is Dora! 
> 
> I'm also thinking for Optimus' chapters every 4th chapter is for him, until his side story gets to be the main focus.
> 
> However that's not for every special chapter, there's some other chapters that aren't restricted to that rule.

Once again he packed up his belongings, unsure what to say to the warlord, before turning away. He nodded towards the guards, at Jazz and Sential. He paused at the steps of Trypticon, to the left was Iacon, and to the right was the ruins of Kaon.

_ That old miner wasn’t too happy with me last time...and being thrown around like a rag doll wasn’t nice. Fragger scared the pit out of me. _

_ _ He shivered, the miner made a small fire and waited for Optimus to warm up, it was only when Optimus started to ask questions did the old timer loose it. He picked Optimus up by the shoulder and dragged him to the exit tunnel, chucking him out. 

_ Landing on my aft after being thrown at least 60 feet hurt, frag it still hurts. _

_ _ And yet thousands of questions crawled in his processor, and all he had to do was turn right.

So he did, once again finding the cover and crawling down into the darkness. He shivered, it was freezing down here, it must be horrible on the old timer’s frame. Flicking on his internal heat system and activating his headlights. Optimus sucked in a cool vent of stale air before venturing forward. He wasn’t sure which mining unit he was in. 

He paused at the first one, ripping the heavy door open, getting a face plate full of freezing air. Optimus shivered stilled his systems and listened.

Nothing.

The door closed with a loud bang and he moved to the next.

“How many mechs were down here?” 

_ Millions. _

_ _ The doors stretched on and on, the tunnel twisted and turned, nothing more than a confusing maze. And millions of mechs lived down here, treated lower than Earth dogs. Dumbed down, working till they rusted, most of them never saw the sun.

Another door closed and he once again was greeted with the dead still air.

Alone, miles under a crumbling city in a tomb.

_ I don’t think Megatron is lying. _

His thoughts started to fester in his processor.

_ Why would anyone lie about this, I’ve seen the evidence, the...pool. _

_ _ He imagined what the underground civilization was like, next to each heavy door was a lift for mining carts. And rails that lead far into the darkness. Miners were sent down below, dug up the lifeblood of Cybertron, they dug their homes, their shops, their whole lives.

_ If he didn’t rebel, he would’ve dug his life away. Just flickered away in the darkness. _

_ _ This door was open, fresher ped steps littered the entrance. “Welp...Should’ve thought that one out better.” He said to himself, listening to the faint crack of metal on rock. Optimus took a moment to himself, venting, shivering as bursts of cold air slammed into his frame. “Please don’t throw me.” And he stepped into the darkness.

He climbed down the stairs, feeling the weak structure wobble under his weight. He saw the tops of the units, all of them dark and vacant. Small habs with only one or two rooms. 

_ Imagine Megatron trying to fit into one of theses. _

The passed through the town square, looking at the ruins of a building, the alley ways, the broken fountain. Trying to picture a little mechling Megatron running around, or reading, or writing his name into the dirt.

The crack of a pick axe pulled Optimus away from the abandoned units and towards the broken lift. He took the stairs down, his frame shivering at the freezing air, he hugged himself and followed the echo of the pickaxe. Wandering through tunnels and stumbling over old mining gear. Everything was caked with dust.

Finally the cracking became louder as Optims peered into the longest tunnel. Flashing his lights to see the old-timer. “Uh, hi.”

The miner didn’t stop, lifting his rusty servos over his helm and slamming the axe down again, breaking off a chunk of energon. 

Optimus climbed into the tunnel, shivering. “It’s uh...the dumb aft who fell in like a few cycles ago? I’m back.”

The miner didn’t look up, kicking the energon over to a pile, his joints creaking as he did so.

Optimus vented, turning to inspect the tunnel. “Wow,” it was massive, twice his size, covered in deep axe marks. Energon lines littered the walls, ceiling and floor, it glittered and sparkled. Never before had he seen raw energon. And then his optics fell on a vacant pick axe. He reached for it.

CRACK!

The miner slammed down his pick axe cutting Optimus off from the vacant one, his yellow foggy optics narrowed and glared at Optimus. He growled. “Leave!” He snapped.

Optimus shivered. “I-I wanted to talk.”

“You’ll offline from the cold before you get anything from me.” He miner snapped.

Optimus vented, the miner had a point, he either left, or froze to death. Optimus backed out of the tunnel and made his way back to the entrance, only to stumble over some old cans. “Frag it all.” he cursed, kicking a can and hearing liquid slosh around. He brushed off the dust, ‘Fire Fuel’. “Well then.” Once again he climbed into the tunnel, finding old rags and making a small bowl to place them in. Soaking them and then lighting a small fire.

The miner stopped, turning towards him, glaring at him. “Fragger’s too clever for his own good.” He snapped turning back to the wall and breaking off another chunk of energon.

Optimus warmed up slowly, holding his servos over the fire and hugging himself. At least the fire solved one problem. 

_ Now to get him to talk. _

Optimus hummed watching the fire dance on the walls, tracing the energon lines and then he finally glanced at the abandoned pickaxe. “So...why’d you stay?”

“Mmm.” he miner huffed. His frame creaking.

“Alright, guessing game, you like mining?”

“Mmm.”

“Family, no that’s dumb.”

“Mhm!”

“Umm… to finish the tunnel?”

“Mmm…”

Optimus huffed, Sari made it look so easy. “You’re alone, no one knows you’re still functioning, and you had the chance to be free. You didn’t take it, why?”

“I’m not alone.” He huffed slammed his axe down, Optimus was surprised that it didn’t break. “There’s one other mech who knows I still function.” he snapped turning towards Optimus, his milky optics glitched.

“But why stay?”

“Because I’m a fool.” He snapped.

“Why do you stay that?”

“Made a lot of mistakes, and I tried to make someone else not make the same mistakes, and I failed.” He growled.

“What kind of mistakes?” Optimus pressed.

“Pissed off the council, broke the main energon pump that ran the carts,” He huffed slumping onto a boulder, his frame creaked. “Council took care of the rest.”

Optimus rubbed his helm. “Can we at least start off with your designation?”

The miner huffed, rolled his optics and held his helm high, something that Optimus found oddly familiar. “Terminus.” 

His tanks dropped as his spark jumped into the back of his intake. “T-Terminus?”

Terminus nodded. “What of it?”

“Y-your…” He struggled to vent. “Your Megatronus’ sire?”

Terminus growled, his servo shot out grabbed Optimus helm and lifting him up with ease. Optimus kicked and struggled as Terminus pulled them both by the steps. “Fragger can’t let me mine in peace can he?” Terminus snapped, his vocalizer cracking as he reached the top of the stairs and threw Optimus. “Don’t you dare speak ill of my boy!” He howled.

Optimus rolled and gasped, once again his frame freezing. “I didn’t mean to, I’m just shocked that you’re still alive.”

Terminus growled turning away from Optimus.

“Wait,” He scraped up. “Megatron, he was captured.”

The miner stopped, snorted. “Ha, Megatronus is clever as a tubro fox, it must’ve taken someone as sly to capture him, or as hard helmed.” Terminus shook his helm. “They’re going to execute him aren’t they?”

“Yes.” Optimus rubbed the back of his neck, conflicted. Megatron told him of Terminus and what the miner did, and personally it was hard to see Terminus raise such a beast.  _ Then again there’s still so much I have to learn.  _ “I...uh, I’ve been talking with him, he’s been telling about...this.” He gestured to the empty units. 

“He’s the fool that told you about the pool?”

“Yes, he told me about how you and a homeless mech took him there.”

Terminus turned, his optics watering. “I wanted to show him the consequences of his actions. Consequences of my actions.”

Optimus stared at the old tried miner, how his frame sagged, covered in rust and dust, his milky optics and the creak of his plates. “The pool?”

Terminus nodded, unable to raise his heavy helm, his vents wheezing as he turned back to the stairs. “The energon pump, we nicknamed it the Heart Machine, kept all of Kaon running, it was a beast.” He limped down the stairs. “If you’re going to stay awhile pick up an axe.”

Optimus glanced at the spare axe, the one that Terminus made very clear that he was not to use. Instead he grabbed another axe just outside the tunnel, then warmed his frame by the small fire. Joining Terminus as they picked at the walls.

“I was in charge of it, I lived by that machine, kept it oiled, timed, everything running smoothly.” He shook his helm. “When I noticed that we were all...slaves, trapped like wamp rats, we did everything we could, talk to the helms, strike, riot. Then we figured, take it all out at once, all of Kaon, knock the city onto its’ knees.”

“So…” His servos ached, his plates weren’t meant for this, he could feel them denting, cutting into his protoform.

“So we tore apart the Heart,” He shook his helm optics watering. “But the helms were smarter than us, they knew who we were, where he lived, and simply flooded our units.”

Optimus shivered, not from the cold. “Did you...loose anyone?”

“Yes.” He vented again, it was broken.

“I’m sorry.” Optimus didn’t want to push the old-timer.

The echo of two axes filled the tunnels, it was sad and yet...kinda nice, strange that just swinging a pickaxe around would be so comforting.

“It’s not your first time mining is it?”

Optimus nodded. “First time, but I do use an axe as my main weapon.”

“That explains it, you’ve got a good full frame swing.” Terminus laughed. “Megatronus, now he was a piece of work, he’ll tell you he was sparked with a pickaxe! Little bitlet was strong but couldn’t make a scratch.”

“Really?”

Terminus chuckled. “When he was real little I’d come home with my axe, still covered in raw energon and watch him chew on it. I have photos somewhere.”

“Photos?”

He grinned nodding. “Megatron, the terror of the Autobots, drooling over his sire’s pickaxe.”

Optimus snorted, that was a sight to see.

“He had chubby cheeks to, also his backfires were like tiny squeaks.”

“Okay that’s hard to imagine.” He laughed, now he needed to see those photos.

“So, who finally put his aft in its place?”

“Well uh,” Optimus cleared his intake. “That was my team, sir.”

Terminus paused, turning to look at him, running his milky optics all over Optimus’ tiny frame. “How?”

“Well...That’s a long story.”

“It’s taken me a long time to join the well.” Terminus snapped.

“My medic, Ratchet built a jetpack for me and I fought Megatron. A copy of Supreme was set to self destruct, and we were trapped-”

“Wait, he’s a flight frame now?”

Optimus nodded.

“Huh.”

“Well we were trapped an I escaped as the bomb went off. Megatron survived (somehow), and he charged at my team. I defeated him.”

“Hmmm.” Terminus nodded, striking the wall once again. “Not gonna lie, you two would have made a great team.”

Optimus paused, his finals poking straight up. “What?”

“If you can defeat him on the battlefield I’m sure you can defeat him behind closed doors.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all knew it was Terminus!  
Yes Terminus still has Megatron's axe, and it has his initials carved into it.   
Also Terminus is almost blind, rusty and like my 30 year old car I have no idea how he's alive. He does still have Megatron's sparkling pictures (and some of his old family) and yes he does ship Megop. THIS MAN APPROVES OF OPTIMUS ASKING MEGTRON ON A DATE AND HE KNOWS OPTIMUS IS GOING TO BRING MEGATRON HOME AT 10!


	9. King Of The Kingdom Of Mech

Megatronus sunk down on the steps, hovering over the unfinished speech, it wasn’t lining up, half of it wasn’t even grammatically correct. “So...you want to overthrow the civilian frames in office?”

“Yes.” Megazarak snapped lifting his servos up. “There’s only Shockwave, that’s our voice, we don’t even have a miner warframe representative.” He seethed.

Megatronus frowned, reading through it one last time, he deleted a good chunk here, and there, replacing it with all frames should be equal. “Okay, and what is Senator Shockwave doing?”

Megazarak huffed folding his arms. “Hardly anything, he’s more worried about surfaced warframes.” He paced. “I don’t get it, we shouldn’t be down here, we should be up there with them, with the Seekers and Tanks.”

Megatronus suddenly shivered, his platting prickling up, an uneasy sense of foreboding crept up his struts. He ignored it opening his intake, “But we-”

“Megatronus!” He jumped out of his ‘seat’ and fell on his aft staring up at Terminus, his spark raced as his sire towered over him. Terminus glanced up at Megazarak, slamming his fist into Megazarak’s helm, Megazarak’s frame flew, a gravestone breaking his fall. “Stay the frag away from Megatronus.” Terminus snarled snatching Megatronus’ arm and dragging him out of the crypt.

Megatronus stumbled to keep up with Terminus, his arm hurting from the tight grip, he was dragged through the square. It was only when Megatronus yanked his arm out of Terminus grip and tripped into an alley. “Terminus!” He snapped stretching his struts to meet Terminus’ yellow optics. “The frag was that?”

“Don’t you raise your voice at me.” Terminus stomped towards him, pushing Megatronus with his chest. 

Megatronus pushed back. “You have no right to order me around or threaten my friends like that.”

“Now right? He’s a lazy fat miner who lives like a parasite.”

“He’s trying to make our lives better.”

“You’re too young to know what’s best for you!”

“I work longer and harder than you do, I can choose what’s best for myself.”

“I’m your sire and-”

“NO YOU’RE NOT!” Megatronus pushed Terminus into a wall, pinning him there. “I know you’re not my sire.” He met Terminus’ optics, watching as those yellow optics widened and washer fluid started to well up at the sides. Then the words of what Megatronus said sunk in, pierce his spark, how easy it was for him to attack Terminus. He dropper Terminus, not even realizing that he easily picked up the elder miner.

Terminus shoved past him, stomping.

“Sire wai-”

Terminus spun around, his optics full of disappointment. 

Megatronus sunk down and watched as his sire disappeared, he fell to his knees and hugged himself. He vented and watched as his tears gathered into a tiny puddle, he tried to hold in the wet sounds and for awhile he did, but his intake grew too tight and the alleyway filled with soft sobs. 

It felt like several kilks before Megatronus got to his peds, his frame numb and he wobbled back to their hab unit. He knocked first and waited, resting his helm against the door, he vented it was broken and wet. “Ter-Sire, I...I wasn’t thinking, I didn’t know my strength, and I know you want the best for me but...I think this is the best.” He waited.

Nothing.

Megatronus vented opening the door and slipping in, then he froze. Terminus wasn’t on the hab, or by the dispensary. “Terminus?” Megatronus searched the small unit and found nothing, he rushed out the door. “Terminus?” He called down the hall, then the stairs. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, feeling small.

He had no idea where Terminus was.

* * *

Megatron stopped, frowning at Optimus. “Do you need a moment?”

Optimus shook his helm, clearing his intake. “No, no, I just...You really care about your sire.”

Megatron gave him a small smile. “Yes, he gave me a lot, a good mech.”

_ That’s a sweet smile. _ Optimus vented. “He raised you well,”

Megatron laughed falling back in his seat. “I think we both know that’s not true.”

Optimus stared at the heavy chains, the thick glass. “He...He really tried to.”

“He did.”

* * *

His denta ached, and he tasted energon in his intake, with a growl that originated from his spark his pick axe slammed down. Sparks flew and blinded his vision for a millisecond, he never flinched. A chunk of silver fell at his peds, he kicked it away and clawed at the rich energon vein below. Bit by bit the chunks of ‘prized’ metal fell away as he reached the glowing pink line.

“Megatronus.” The foreman called crawling into Terminus’ tunnel, huffing. “Alright,” He patted Megatronus’ shoulder. “That’s enough kid,”

He shrugged the foremen off.

“Okay, listen here, I know there's some kind of slag going on between you and your sire. And honestly I don’t care, but I can’t have one of my workers, who’s still young and growing into his plates not rest or refuel!”

Megatron stilled his pick axe, tasting his own energon his in intake. Finally he moved his jaw, his denta tingled. “So?”

He vented. “Listen, you’re still a kid, you make mistakes an that’s okay, that’s what’s expected, even adults make mistakes. But that’s what makes being young so…” He tossed his servos up unable to find a word. “Go, you’re off shift, rest, and process, go spend some time with you sire or something.”

Megatron rolled his optics his axe slowly slid down to rest against his ped. “But the vein it’s right there.”

“And? It’s going to be there when you get back, the mine is going to keep mining with you ya.” He whistled and pointed to the entrance. “Now get out of here.”

Megatron huffed setting his axe aside and shuffling out of the tunnel, his peds dragged across the ground until he stepped into the lift. Digits caressed his sore jaw and he spat out the soul energon as the lift jerked to a stop. Megatornus vented his struts aching as he stretched them.

He paused, listening to two smaller mechs playing with old tools, sword fighting, they crossed the square and jumped onto the fountain he used to sit at and practice his letters. A third mechling joined in, all three of them giggling. Strange that there was only a servo-ful of sparklings this cycle, and last cycle there had been more, even the mechlings he grew up with were lacking.

Megatronus disregarded the thoughts, too tired physically but too emotionally worried to rest. Sure he’d had fights with Terminus before, but nothing like this, he attacked his own sire, his only family and-

An arm shot out and stopped him, the homeless mech stood there in the shadows. His long beard dragging to the floor, his blue optics dull. “Hmph.” He huffed.

“What?” His vocalizer cracked.

The mech frowned. “I’ve been waiting for awhile.” He grabbed Megatronus’ cheek plating and pulling him into the shadows.

He stumbled after the elderly mech, finding his peds were too big. “Where are we going?”

They slipped deeper and deeper into the shadows, climbing down stairs, through tunnels, old mine shafts. Before he knew it his spark was in his tanks, the air was still, and wet, he was being led towards the pool. Megatronus held his vents looking down at the still water, and the figure of Terminus hunched over by the edge. 

The homeless mech stood aside, his optics turning to the endless water.

Megatronus crept down the steps, sitting next to his sire, helm in his servos. 

Terminus vented, the pool was still below them. “When I found you, you were small, very, very small.” His servo landed on Megatronus’ back struts. “It’s almost unheard of, abandoning a sparkling, creators are very close with their creations. But...whoever they were they couldn’t have you. You were tiny, almost the size of my servo, far too small to be a fully developed sparkling.”

His reflection stared back at him, hardly looking like his sire. “What about them, the family you had before.”

Terminus screwed his yellow optics shut. “I’ve accepted that they’re gone, and I’ll rejoin them in the well when it’s my time.” He patted Megatronus’ back plates. “I think I have more important issues to tend to. I don’t want to lose you.”

Megatronus pushed his sire’s servo off of him, smirking. “You won’t.”

Terminus smiled down at him. “I know.”

“Do you think I would’ve gotten along with them?”

Terminus laughed. “Trust me, my bonded would melt over your cubby sparkling cheeks!”

“They’re not chubby any more!”

Terminus pinched his cheek. “They still are!” The two laughed, lightly shoving one another, slowly they settled and Terminus rose to his peds. “Megatronus?”

“Yes?”

“I never want you to feel that, what I felt that day.”

His spark sunk, he knew for years what Terminus had been through, what loss he took when his family was taken. “I won’t.”

The older mech vented shutting his optics. “I need you to quit.”

Megatronus stared down at his servos, grinding his denta. “Okay.”

Terminus offered him a small smile. “Come on, let’s get some rest.”

Megatronus joined him, glancing back at the pool, watching the water stretch on and on, and he paused, there was a light, a faint glow, a tiny little ball of light. He shivered, feeling like something was watching them.

* * *

Optimus’ intake twisted. “A light?”

Megatron shrugged. “I never found out what it was.”

He groaned, another mystery to add to the pile. “Great.”

“Is that a problem, little prime?”

Optimus rolled his optics and mimicked the human gesture of shutting up with his digits. “Nope, none of that ‘little prime’ stuff here.”

Megatron huffed. “You’re no fun.”

“You were just talking about a pool full of corpses!”

“And a weird glowing light.”

Optimus slammed his helm down. “Okay, what’s the next thrilling chapter in widdle Megatronus life?” He caught that faint blush of embarrassment on the warlord’s face, that was a win.

Megatron cleared his intake. “I went to the surface.”

“What?” He jerked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Gestures to Shockwave.*  
THERE HE FUCKING IS, THERE HE IS! HE'S COMING, OH LORD HE COMIN!  
I just think Shockwave is neat.


	10. With The Sun In Our Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FIELD TRIP!

The walls were shrinking, everything was shrinking. He didn’t like it, his peds were too big for his frame. He ducked out of the lift, shuffling out of the mine, he paused and glanced at Terminus, they locked optics, Terminus nodded. They agreed that this was the last cycle, the last time Megatronus would meet with Megazark. He turned to the crack in the wall, slipping into the crypts, with each step his peds grew heavy as he descended down. Finally stopping in front of the biggest throne.

Megazarak was draped over it, a cube to his side, he was dozing, peacefully.

Megatronus cleared his intake. “Megazarak.”

The mech turned towards him. “Oh, where have you been Megatronus?”

“I was in the mines.”

“Ah.” The mech nodded slowly sitting up. “So, ready to go back to work? I just figured out my next speech.”

Megatronus shook his helm. “No, I’m not writing for you anymore.”

Megazarak frowned, leaning back in his throne. “Really? Why’s that?”

He vented. “I...I can’t put everyone in danger, I know what the council can do and I won’t let everyone get hurt by our mistakes.”

“‘Mistakes’?” Megazarak jumped out of his throne. “‘Mistakes’? This isn’t a mistake,” He paced around Megatronus, servos folded behind his back plates. “You’ve never seen our sun, or the rolling seas, or the glorious cities of Cybertron.” He paused poking his servo into Megatronus’ chest plate. “This isn’t a ‘mistake’.”

Megatronus vented. “I know what they can do.”

Megazarak rolled his optics. “Fine, let me show you.” He grabbed Megatronus servo, pulling him along. They slipped through another crack, into a vent, finding a ladder, Megazarak led me up, and up. Then they stopped by an old lift, taking the rusty stairs, finally Megazarak pried open the hatch and heaved the chunk of rusty metal up.

Megatronus hissed shutting his optics and covering his face, flinching away from the light. Slowly his optics focused and he was pulled out by Megazarak, he took in his first deep vent of surface air. It was clean, not full of moisture and his engines rumbled with the fresh air. He glanced up at the burning ball above them, the gentle rays warming him. Tall structures pierced the sky. 

Megazarak grinned. “I guess you have a lot of questions huh?”

He cleared his intake nodding, feeling a gust of wind creep through his plates. “Yes.”

Megazarak wrapped his arm around Megatronus’ shoulders. “Come on, first things first we need to rinse you off. Caked with dirt.” He flicked a chunk of dried mud off, pulling Megatronus to a pump. “It’s cold,” He left Megatronus there, picking up the hose and aiming it.

Megatronus gasped, shivering as he was blasted with freezing cold water, he girt his denta and hugged himself as Megazarak circled him. Massive clumps of dirt fell from his frame, joints loosened and Megatronus shook everything off of his plates. Finally the water stopped and Megazarak dropped the hose. “What?” Megatronus frowned, folding his arms and trying to hide his shivering.

“I didn’t know you were silver.”

“Silver?” He reset his optics glancing down at the thick muddy water under his peds, his reflection stared back at him. His plates were scuffed but shined and glimmered, just like the minerals in the tunnels. When did his face get so skinny? When did his chin guard even grow in? 

* * *

“We get it Megatron, you’re hot.”

Megatron frowned. “Excuse me but what does ‘hot’ mean?”

Optimus cursed the stupid Earth terms he picked up. “It’s...On earth it means attractive.”

“Oh,” Once again that stupid slag eating grin spread across his lip plates. “Whose ‘we’?”

Optimus forced himself to vent. “Honestly all of Cybertron, every mech and femme, alright?”

Megatron rumbled. “Interesting, so little prime, do you find me ‘hot’?”

“Can you tell me again how Megazarak sprayed you down with freezing cold water?”

“Well,” He chewed his bottom lip plate, his fang poking out. Bastard.

* * *

Once Megazarak outfitted them with some holodigueses they stepped into the city down the hill. Megatronus stared up at the tiny specks flying high above. Megazarak leaned in. “Flight frames, see those 3?” He gestured to the perfect triangle of mechs. “Seekers, a trine, they always come in 3’s. That over there, that huge one? That’s a shuttle, they can go into space, and that’s a helicopter frame, they’re light.”

Megatronus stared as Megazarak pulled him along, he had no idea mechs could soar into the sky. He stumbled along, bumping into several other mechs, passing glittering buildings and polished mechs. They stopped at an open space, one that had no towers hovering over them, threatening to fall on them. The ground was soft, bright crystals grew out of the ground and mechs gathered, some walked, some sat and chatted. “What is this place?” Megatronus asked.

“It’s a park, it’s like the square but you know, not slag?”

Megatronus froze as he heard giggling, watching not one, or two but a mini army of sparklings run up the tiny soft hill. “Sparklings?”

“Yeah, there’s tons of them up here, no one can keep their panels closed.” Megazarak smirked.

He watched them, all of them playing a harmless game of some sorts, tagging one another while hiding. His spark swelled, admittedly they were so small, so cute. It was only when one had wandered off from the group, it was so tiny, his ped could squish it. Megatronus frowned, little things shouldn’t be left alone. He glanced back at the group, then at the lone sparkling. Then his spark dropped into his tanks, a massive truck frame was rolling by as the tiny squishy sparkling was bumbling towards the road. 

He rushed over scooping up the tiny little bitlet in his servo as the truck flew by, the bitlet reset their optics, turning to look at Megatronus. “Uh, hi little one.”

It squeaked and crawled out of his servo and up his shoulder, sitting comfortably on top, it whistiled wiggling in place at the new view. 

Megatronus laughed keeping a servo on the tiny bitlet as he turned back into the park. With each set the bitlet squeaked and wiggled even more, loving the powerful frame under him.

“Where is he?” A feme snapped running towards the group of sparklings. “Where is he?” She hissed, all the sparklings shuffled and looked down at their peds. “Little one, where are you?” She gave in, calling out.

“Excuse me.” Megatronus leaned down, she spun around, gawking at Megatronus’ height, then brightened spotting the tiny sparkling on his shoulder. “Are you missing him?”

She vented, plucking the sparkling (who instantly beeped in anger) off his shoulder. “Thank you, where was he?”

“Well I saw him wandering off and I picked him up before he got too close to the road.”

“Oh thank you!” She glared at the sparkling. “You’re a naughty little thing, you know that? Those horns match you.” The sparkling’s bright blue optics watered and he whimpered, the little bitlet turned to Megatronus reaching out his tiny servos and asking for help. “Oh, he likes you, then again he likes anything big and tall, he’s the smallest spark.”

He reset his optics, noticing that the other sparklings were much bigger, while he was tiny. “Huh,” He offered a digit and the sparkling clung to it, Megatronus smirked. “He’s got cute horns.”

She smiled. “He does, alright, we’ve got to get you home, all of you, it’s almost naptime and I know someone,” She gestured to the smallest sparkling in her arms. “Gets cranky.”

Megatronus smiled down. “Alright little one, you be nice for your creators.”

He beeped and waved Megatornus goodbye as they left.

Megazarak appeared by his side. “Someone has a soft spot.”

Megatron rolled his optics. “What, he’s so tiny, with his little horns, fragger’s got spunk.”

“So, what do you think?”

“Huh?”

“What do you think? Life up here?” Megazarak elbowed his side. “Not bad, way better than down there.”

He vented, he told his sire that he would quit, he would give up, and yet deep down in his spark he didn’t want to. 

“Before you make up your mind, I got this for you.” he handed Megatronus a glass pad.

He skimmed over it, read it again and reread it.

**Miner Terminus is to be exempt from all mining activity.**

“It’s from one of the few supporters we’ve got, he’s in high places and I asked him for a favor. I’ll have you meet him one cycle, he’s interesting.”

“What’s his name?

“Senator Shockwave.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gross sip* So y'all got any ideas or?


	11. Businessman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHOCKWAVE!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright a few notes.  
Shockwave is more of that crazy fun science teacher you had in elementary, that's what I'm going for, we'll learn more about him.  
I'm trying to give Strika a Russian accent, it's hard, so let me know what you think, any tips are more then welcome!  
Megazarak shows his temper.  
I think Overlord as an enforcer scares me.  
On a way other note, I think this chapter is kinda coming out at a perfect/odd time?  
I also try to only update this fic when there's a buffer chapter, but I'm saying screw it for once, so it might be awhile for the next update!

Optimus took a sip from his cube, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs. He read over his notes, the audio to text translation and even back up recorder. “So,” He licked his lips looking up from his devices to meet the relaxed red optics. “Tell me about Senator Shockwave?”

“Hmmm,” Megatron rumbled, rubbing his chin. “Where do I start?”

“When did you first meet him?”

“Ah,” He snapped his digits. “The same day I met Strika, Starscream and Overlord.”

Optimus’ ease left, like the floor under him opened up and it dropped into the core of Cybertron. “O-Overlord?”

Megatron nodded, once more putting up a neutral mask. “It was either my 3rd or 4th trip to the surface, Megazarak wanted me to meet the other war frames.”

* * *

The sun burned, it shined and gave everything a glossy look, he squinted his optics feeling the slight sting. Hissing as his optics adjusted, Megazarak was already spraying him down, once the freezing water was off his frame they ventured forward into the city of Kaon. Megatronus stayed close to Megazarak, as the two miners slipped into the crowded streets.

“Where are we going?” Megatronus asked, observing an elegant building that had twists and turns. He never knew that buildings could be so pretty.

“To a meeting, a hidden one, don’t want any enforcers.”

“Huh, a Illicit gathering?”

Megazarak paused, frowned. “Now I know Shockwave is going to like you.”

“What do you mean?” He stopped next to Megazarak, waiting for traffic to stop.

“You know,” He elbowed Megatronus in the side, then tapped his helm. “You’re smart, using words that I’ve never heard before. You’re both...nerdy.”

They crossed making their way to a fancier side of town, mechs flew above them, soaring and screaming through the air. They landed on this massive spiralling tower that dared to cut through the heavens. Seekers, that’s what Megazarak told him, strange that this one was alone, they always seemed to travel in trines, well at least this one had a massive shuttle trailing behind them. They landed and went into the airport.

Megazarak stopped in front of a building, it was clearly a refueling station of some kind. “Macdaddams.” Megazarak slapped his back pulling Megatronus in. They waved to the massive orange mech behind the bar, as they passed through the crowded joint, towards the very back. There Megazarak stopped by an empty refueling tank, kicking the bottom 3 times before glancing back at the room. Megatronus did the same, trying to blend in, only to have a servo grab his shoulder, another wrap around his intake and yanked him back.

He fell on his aft, groaning, a voice mumbled an apology and offered a servo. He took it, feeling his whole frame jerk up, and for the first time in solar cycles he was picked up like a sparkling, Megatronus met the mech’s optics. Red, she was massive, magenta and orange plates, a heavy duty ventilator, twin cannons on her arms. A fully outfitted war frame. He felt his spark drop to the bottom of his peds, smiling nervously. “H-hi.”

She laughed, it was coated with a strange accent. “You musz be MegazRonus?”

He nodded as she set him down, she towered over him. “And you?”

“SzRika, geneRal SzRika,” 

_ General? Frag she’s half the dam army.  _ “Nice to meet you.”

She laughed again, ushering him away from the door. “MegazaRak you didn’z zell me mineRs had manneRs!”

“Frag off Strika,” Megazarak snapped.

She chuckled again leading Megatronus to a round table with a few glasses of strange looking energon and a few glowing thingies. “Siz, siz, varm youR peds.” Strika fell into a chair, leaning back and crossing her massive servos behind her helm. Strika vented, filling the whole room with hot air, her chassis stuck out proudly, and every dent and scratch was worn like a badge of honor. Cold harsh optics stared down at him, and yet there was this favor to them, an excitement. “Comrade MegatRonus, you must be the vriteR?”

Megatronus reset his optics. “Uh, yeah, I just write down what Megazarak says.” He shrugged, trying to make out the thick accent.

“The accent?” She shook her helm. “I’m from Zarn,” Strika pulled out a map and slapped it on the table, gesturing to a massive chunk of land, it was north, very north. “Zat is Zarn.”

“Holy slag.” Megatronus mumbled, it was massive. “How many time zones?”

“27.” 

Megatronus stared at the map. “I didn’t know there were so many...nations on Cybertron.”

“Here,” Strika shoved the map into his servos. “Zake it comrade MegatRonus.”

He held it up between his servos. “Is this all of Cybertron?”

“Yes,” Megazarak snuck up behind him, his digit landing on Kaon. It wasn’t a huge nation but it wasn’t small. He never saw his own nation before. “So who are we waiting on?” Megazarak asked, falling into a chair and spinning before reaching forward and grabbing one of those glowing squishies. 

“Shockvave, StarscReam and OveRloRd.” Strika grabbed herself a cube. “Vant anyzing MegatRonus?” She pushed the plater towards him.

He blinked, picking up the bright pink liquid.

“Zat’s a biz szRong,” Strika said, placing her servo over the top. 

“Oh, I’ve just never really had any of this.”

“Ah, by all means try, it’s all good, ze gummi cookies are really sweet, that one is a bit sour. The pitchers are lov, med and high grade.”

“Thank you.”

Strika beamed, pointing at Megatronus. “Manners.”

Megazarak stuck out his tongue. 

There was another knock, Strika jumped up so fast that the floor shook under her, another frame was tossed in, he hissed and stumbled back, brushing dirt off of him. He spun around his...limbs flicked up and he sneered. “Megazarak.” He nodded curtly to the other miner then turned to Megatronus. “Ah, Megatronus?”

“Comrade StarscReam, comrade MegatRonus,” Strika gestured to Megatronus. “Manners.”

“Shove it up your exhaust pipe, Strika.” Megatronus grumbled.

Starscream offered a servo, Megatronus took it, they shook and Starscream took the seat next to Megatronus. “Well it’s clear Strika has taken a liking to you,” He smirked. “Starscream, scientist and soon to be wing lord.” 

Megatronus tilted his helm, looking up and down the sleek fragile frame. “Uh, I didn’t know seekers were-”

“War frames?” He pulled a servo up and started to clean under his claws, they sparkled with a fresh polish. “We were adapted for hunting, and I mean fast hunting, however after a servoful of wars,” He waved his servo around his claws clicking against one another. “Seekers became this interface object, something wild, untamed, and most frames view us as just that.” He hissed, his servo stopping, those claws glistening. “It was just a fight to get my first degree.” Those claws stopped, and then Megatronus understood, it wasn’t polish, they were sharp, sharp enough to tear into his main fuel line. Starscream was sparked with them, what else was he sparked with. 

“Huh,” Megatronus opened his intake only to have another mech stumble in.

This one was taller than Stikra, blue, dark red optics, and thick lips. He smiled, it wasn’t a grin like Starscream’s, this one was off, he would smile but this optics didn’t match. He nodded to Stika, then glanced at Starscream and Megazarak, and finally stopped at Megatronus. “Overlord, I’m an enforcer, that’s all there is to know.” He took a seat and poured himself a cube.

“Ve vait for Shockvave.” Strika shrugged.

The table was filled with powerful mechs, enforcers, to leaders, with a wave of their servo they could start a war, they had control, fear, and reputations. Megatronus sunk into his seat, why was he here? He was a miner, a miner his creators never wanted, he didn’t even know his true creators. Why was he here? His optics landed on Megazarak. “Shockwave, what’s he like?”

Megazarak hummed. “Sparks in the right place, fraggers prideful, stubborn, and trust me, he’s got a thing for racer frames.”

“Shockwave is bold, very bold, he’s made many foes in the political ring, foolish but he’s made quite a mark for us warframes.” Starscream grabbed himself a cube of the high grade. “But he’s brilliant, on the council floor in his lab.”

“Lab?” Megatronus asked.

The door opened up and shut quietly, a small frame stepped in, he was tiny, thin, sleek, his peds had massive wheels. He stopped at the head of the table. “I’m glad that I gathered you all here today.” He reached behind his helm a faint beep was heard and the illusion of a tiny racer faded to this towering colorful mech. Neon green and pink with traces of dark magenta, blue optics, everyone else had red. “Well then,” He pulled out a stack of datapads tossing them around. Then he stopped spotting Megatronus. “Oh, oh!” He wiggled past Starscream’s wings, then spun Megatronus’ chair around. “You must be Megatronus!” He squeaked, his intake pulling into a smile optics flashing with glee. 

“Uh, hi?” He offered his servo.

“Shockwave,” He took it, shaking the servo. “My, my you’re young, wait are you younger then?” He glanced at Strika, then Starscream. “Goodness, you’re young.” He didn’t seem to care for personal space, picking up Megatronus’ servo and inspecting the plates.

“Um, how can you tell?” 

Shockwave poked at his chassis, “This, it’s too thin,” He flicked it, then pointed to Megatronus’ shoulders. “These are supposed to be thinner, and your peds,” He gave a light kick. “Too big, you’ve got a lot of growing to do. What sort of frames are your creators?”

Now he sunk into his chair. “Um, never met them.”

“Oh,  _ oh _ ,” Shockwave deflated, his finals flicked back. “I’m sorry.”

Megatronus simply brushed it off with a light shrug.

Shockwave shook himself, his servos clasping together. “Right, right, so I’ve got the good news and the bad news. Good news: Megatronus’ and Megazarak’s words have been spreading like cosmic rust, even civilian frames are reading it, from gutter mechs to enforcers. I’ve noticed that there’s been more support for our movement and my political choices. However that doesn’t mean the council isn’t exactly happy, they’ve been trying to end the trafficking of the copies, and even going as far as to end peaceful protests with violence.” He tapped his digits on the table. “However I want to stay with the peaceful option.”

Megazarak rolled his optics. “Why? It’s too slow and we all know it’s not going to end well. We have a general, a wing lord who pretty much runs Vos from the shadows, and a senator. Just take it over already.”

Shockwave frowned. “Megazarak, violence and brash behaviour didn’t work in the past, it won’t work now. You need to understand that right now we’re waiting on a bomb, one that could set off all of Cybertron.”

“So what, set it off. You’re not down in the mines like me and Megatronus. We need change down there now!” He jumped out of his chair and met Shockwave’s optics with his own.

“I understand your fus-”

“No, no you don’t, I’m sorry that you get polished, I’m sorry you get to fly around, and I’m sorry you’re in charge of an army. I’m so sorry that none of you have to worry about Cybertron falling on you, that none of you worry about enough energon, or that you got an education. I’m so, so, so sorry that you trip over sparklings!” He snarled, shoving past Shockwave and stomping out.

His spark sank, flinching as Megazarak slammed another hidden door behind him and left, he turned back to the table. “I’ve never seen him act like that.”

Shockwave shrugged. “Lucky, he’s got a tempter, I’m surprised that the writing is so thought out, developed and hardly ever mentions acts of violence.” 

“Violence isn’t ze answeR here,” Strika shook her helm, falling over the table. “It von’t end well.”

Overlord smirked and licked his lip plates. “It only works for the winners.”

Shockwave groaned. “Well...I guess we’ll proceed without Megazarak, the senate is uneasy, they’re watching the shadows, boarders, and trades. They have tracked down our original copy shop, so we’ve had to sneak around and find a few others.” He tapped his digits on the table, strange, they were trimmed, maybe they had claws at some point? “The other copy shops are...okay, but they’re not efficient. Ideas?”

Starscream smirked, wings flicking. “Why didn’t you bring this up before? I have a web of connections, just send the copies to me. Vos doesn’t have the biggest library, hardly nothing compared to the archives, oh what I wouldn’t do to get my claws on Alpha Trion’s collection. But being that most of Vos is in support of the movement, just sent them my way, it’s not like Skyfire has noticed what our trips to Kaon are really about.” He grinned, but his optics softened. “Gullbie sweet Skyfire.”

“Very good, Starscream, I suppose if you can’t make it to Kaon every jor then you could send one of your trine mates.” Then Shockwave turned to Overlord. “You’re still fine with transporting the original copies?” The quiet blue mech nodded. “And Megatronus I hope you don’t mind relaying the information tonight to Megazarak?”

He shook his helm.”

“Very well, sorry this wasn’t a groundbreaking meeting, I would’ve tried other methods to inform everyone, but they’ve been tracking me, and decoding my comm.” The senator vented, rubbing under his optics. “I’m hoping this will be over soon, when it is, I’m going to finally break into that high end energex my sire left me.” He mumbled.

* * *

He stepped out of the prison, watching the sun set. Optimus once more changed into his alt-mode and sped off, this time towards Iacon, easily navigating the streets that he developed on. He tried to picture Iacon as young Megatronus saw it, he turned off the exit and passed the scanner, the elite guard’s hanger opened up and he drove down into the darkness. There he was greeted with the massive orange frame of Omega.

Sentinel lent them this old war hanger to stay in, Ultra Magnus was still on the mend but currently it was Sentinel taking control. Optimus didn’t like that.

“OPTIMUS!”

He spun just in time to catch a 60 mph Sari in his servo. “Sari?” He lifted her up to his helm.

“I’m good, just let me re-calibrate.”

“Kid you need to take those upgrades slowly.” Ratchet snapped. “There’s a reason we had them locked.”

Sari stuck out her tongue. “And now it’s a perfect time to learn how to use them.”

Ratchet groaned. “Alright that’s it for the cycle, lock down now.”

Sari huffed half of her frame disappeared in itself. “Fine, spoil sport.” 

“I don’t know what that means but I don’t like that tone.”

Optimus set Sari on his shoulder, she liked being tall, her peds wiggled and she hummed. 

“So how was the play date with the slag marker?” She teased.

“Fine, but he’s not giving me the answers that I want. Keeps… what is it? ‘Beating around the bush’?” Optimus shook his helm, admittedly he was frustrated with everything. He just wanted to record it, but there was so much. And part of him didn’t believe it until he met Terminus, and...the pool. He vented.

“Kid you might want to clam down, you’ll blow a fuse and think yourself to death. I’m sure Megatron is just stalling.” Ratchet called, cleaning his servos with a rag and staring up at Omega’s landing gear.

“Yes! YES! YES~!” Bumblebee ran down the stairs. “ **YES!** ” His wheels screamed and he dashed around the hanger.

“What’s gotten into him?” Sari asked.

“I’M FREE FROM MY TERRIBLE SIBLINGS AND I LOVE THIS HANGER!” Bee shouted.

“Oh come on, siblings aren’t that bad, I would love to have a younger brother or sister.” Sari said back, trying to keep an eye on Bumblebee.

“Yeah, but-” He skidded to a stop, pulling out a datapad and pulling up a photo. “How ‘bout 30? And they’re all bigger than you?” A huge family photo filled the screen, all 30 mechs crowded together, all of them towered over Bumblebee. “See?”

“Awh, you’re the lil wunt?” Sari teased.

“Yes!” Bumblebee hissed. “They’ve always done this, even when I was a sparkling, they’d just leave me alone, never include me in anything. But that’s not the worst part, they never tell me anything, like how was I supposed to know,” He pointed to one of the mechs in the picture. “That he’s bonded? I mean hello, I’ve been on earth and fighting ‘cons that whole time?”

“Well I’m sure they missed you.” Sari countered.

“Nope!” Bumblebee shoved his datapad into his subspace. “They knew that I was okay, that I didn’t die. And they never called or sent a message, or even checked in, just-” Bumblebee threw up his servos. “I’m related to those aftholes, it was so bad that my sire told me that one time I almost died because of them.”

Optimus froze, his optics almost popping out of his helm. “Uh, how?”

“I was a sparkling, and something about almost being ran over, some mech saved me in time.” He shrugged. “Besides, I didn’t need them to fight ‘cons.” He smirked.

Optimus picked up Sari and set her on Bumblebee’s shoulders, giving her a wink, she winked back. The tiny techno organic knew how to cheer up Bee, mostly through chaos and poor choices but it did bring a smile to Bee’s face.

“Hey Bee, wanna get some gummies?” She asked.

“Do I?” Bee tossed her into the air, and started to change into his alt-mode, catching her in his cabin before zooming off. “Gummies are exactly what I need right now!”

They watched the yellow frame fly out of the hanger, Ratchet vented. “Good thinking with Sari. It makes sense, how that kid acts...Optimus you don’t look so good.” Ratchet rested a servo on his shoulder.

Optimus laughed. “Yeah, I think I’ll be hearing that a lot more often now.” He shuffled off to his own hab, his processor aching with more questions and answers that he didn’t seem to like.  _ Megatron didn’t lie about the pool, Terminus is living proof of what happened before, and now Bumblebee? It keeps adding up and and up, and...why haven’t I heard this before? Why isn’t this in our history? _

* * *

“Your processor turns to sludge pie, your tanks start to liquify, and for the living all is well, as you wink further into pit. And the flames rise up to drag you down-”

“Such a dark song for you to sing Terminus.”

“PRIMUS!” Terminus screamed and jumped back, his frame screamed falling on his aft. 

The bearded mech laughed, his servo running down his beard. “Still jumpy as ever?”

“Frag off, you old coot.” Termius pulled himself into a seat. “So why are you here?”

The mech sat, his legs folding into a triangle. “I’m guessing the young mech has visited you?”

“Yes, he’s quite curious.” He huffed. “We know what happens to mechs like him.”

The mechs’ servo shot out. “No, he’s curious, but he’s not a fool. Besides, I feel that it’s only a matter of time before he hunts me down...How are they?”

“Restless, I don’t know what they’re thinking, but having a civilian frame down here? That’s risky.” Terminus leaned back, his frame aching with each movement, sharp pains running up and down his limbs. “Do you think the Decepticons will ever return to Cybertron?”

The mech started at the crystals that covered the walls. “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We HAVE ANSWERS!  
Yes it was Bee, and Bees not really from Kaon but his family moved there, also the idea of Bee having 30 older siblings is hell. Sorta explains his behavior.  
Terminus is singing the hearse song, spoopy


	12. ~*Special Chapter: Turning Tanks*~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sari's sick!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *any Optimus finds someone younger then him*  
Optimus:I'm that dad now
> 
> I just like Optimus being this supportive 10 out of 10 dad/stepdad figure, just a good dad. I'd kill for more Optimus and Sari fics out there. 
> 
> I like that I'm trying to pace myself in this fic and it's just 'ha nope' now.

The steady hum of his systems slowly coming back to life filled the room, with a groan Optimus rolled on his side checking his chronometer. Only to groan louder, it was 3 am, roughly 8 jours in the morning, great. He sat up, hearing his hydraulics pump fresh oil, slowly his processors started to boot up and he threw his peds over. Optimus left his hab, looking out at the wartime hangar, something was off.

He listened, hearing the sound again, he knew this sound after too many late nights with Sentinel and Elita, purging. His own tanks curled in and twisted, with gentle ped steps he followed the sound. Peering into a hallway that leads towards Sari’s hab. “Sari?”

There it was again. “Ugh, com’ in.”

Optimus stepped in, finding the tiny techno organic bent over a tiny waste bin, her hair was messy, eyes drooped and her normal cheerful demeanor was gone. His spark ached, he leaned down and scooped her up into his servos. “Tanks malfunctioning?” 

She nodded, leaning into his servo.

“Wanna go on the sofa and watch a movie?”

Sari nodded again. “Yea, can we watch The Thing?”

Optimus forced a smile, he hated that movie, scared him too much, organics know how to make things gross, and way too scary. How did the 12 year old girl not even flinch? Optimus had no idea. “Alright, come on.” They went over to the holoscreen, Optimus set her down on the sofa arm and found the horror movie. He put it on and lowered the volume before picking Sari back up, stretching on the sofa and putting her on his chassis.

Sari bundled her soft tarp around her tiny frame, curling up with the waste bin. “I don’t know what was in those gummies.” She stuck out her pink tongue, her tanks growling louder as she clung to the bin.

Optimus patted her back. “Maybe you had too much?”

Sari shook her head. “Only a handful, Bee downed the whole batch like a python.” He laid against his frame, signing. “Hey Optimus?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you talking to Megatron?”

“Ah,” He froze for a moment, watching the husky run across the snowy horizon. “I think I need to know? I want to know why he started it, the war, the exile, everything.”

“Mmm,” She blinked and rubbed her eyes. “Why do you think he started it?”

Optimus snorted. “It’s funny, I don’t think he did, to me it sounds like he was caught up in it.”

Sari frowned. “Really?”

“I’m not sure, he could be lying, but...I don’t know.” He vented, the whole interview wasn’t going the way he expected. Megatron had some truth, physical proof to everything, and yet no one had ever told him about this. Not in the history classes, Kup never mentioned a thing about the tunnels, and Alpha Trion simply never brought anything up. He felt unsure, uneasy, it was like standing on two plates that kept shifting and no matter what he stumbled, all he could do was pick the right plate and hopefully it wouldn’t give.

“Ugh, do you two know what time it is?” Ratchet snapped, stumbling out of his hab and towards them. “A horror movie? Really?”

“Shhh,” Optimus hissed just as Sari purged again.

Ratchet froze, rolled his optics. “Upset tanks?”

He nodded his servo rubbing Sari’s back. “She didn’t have a lot of gummies.”

“Huh,” Ratchet made his way to the refueling area, grabbing a cube, putting low grade with zinc and copper flakes. “Strange, even sparklings can handle those gummies.” he said, putting the cube on a hot pad. “What’s the symptoms?”

“Just throwing up,” Sari said, shivering. “And freaking out over throwing up.”

“Hmm, well kiddo, everything about you is new, I’m shocked that you can handle both organic and artificial fuels.” Ratchet picked up the cube and handed it to Optimus. “Let it cool and don’t force yourself to finish it, should stabilize your tanks.” He moved Optimus’ peds, sat down and put them back up, yawning.

“Thanks.” Sari said, purging again and shivering. Slowly she sipped at the blend and leaned against Optimus. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep again. Optimus found himself smiling at Sari, letting his engine rumble gently as she curled up. Ratchet picked up the cube and the bin, setting them on the table.

“She’s so new, she’s got so much to learn.” Optimus mumbled resting his servo over Sari. “I don’t get it, how could she get sick? Anyone could eat those gummies.”

“Her tanks are adapted towards Earth fuels.”

“She’s been fine until now.” He frowned, listening to Sari’s soft snoring.

“I’ve noticed that her diet leans more towards the heavy metals, nothing light, no tin. I wonder what she would’ve been like if she stayed with her carrier for her whole gestation process?” 

That was one of many mysteries that surrounded Sari, who were/are her creators? Where are they? Do they even know about her? Would they even accept her? What would she look like if she wasn’t half organic? Sari was a mystery, a long never ending mystery that Optimus unfortunate was sure he would never fully figure out. “Why is she processing heavy metals?”

“Well a normal sparkling would be twice her size now, I think she’s making up for lost time? Not to mention that her frame is denser, not heavy but well built in a way. Layers and layers of metal spread over and over her plates, but she’s light.”

“Are you saying she’ll get bigger?”

“She might, it’s hard to picture a frame with built in weapons not having any outer plates.”

“I’ve never seen a frame with built in weapons.” Optimus pressed, feeling that there was something the medic wasn’t outright saying.

Ratchet froze, his face turned pale, he snapped his intake shut. “I don’t know, alright?” He hissed, lifting Optimus’ peds up and rising to his own. 

“Ratch-”

“Goodnight kid.” He snapped and stomped off, shaking his helm and muttering.

Optimus groaned, Ratchet had been acting strange lately. He’d been proactive over Sari, keeping an optic on her, he always wanted to have someone out with her. The medic only allowed her to use her weapons in the hangar. He was hiding her. Optimus pushed down the never ending trail of questions, turning to the tiny frame that curled up over his spark. He understood Ratchet’s new snappy attitude, or well ‘a side of extra snap’, but Sari was fine. Besides if they couldn’t find her creators Sari already had a family (he likes that word more than unit). Optimus didn’t mind keeping an optic on the little trouble marker. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any ideas on what Ratchet's hiding?


	13. We All Lift Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions between Megans grow!

“We are greater, we know these streets, the mechs, the cities, all of Cybertron more than the council. There is an army- no, no,” Megatronus paused, ‘army’ was too much. “A force? Yeah, force. There is a force, and you are part of it, together we can take dow-” He paused again, the speeches were getting more arrogant, one tracked, all Megazarak discussed was how the council had failed them, and that they needed to attack. 

A war is not what Cybertron needed right now, then again when was war ever good?

Speaking of Megazarak, the mech poked his helm out from a marker stone. “How's it going?”

Megatronus huffed. “Slow, you’re getting ….more aggressive in your speeches,” He noted, setting the pad to the side. He flexed his digits, knowing that he should be in the mines, part of him wished he was down there now, in his tunnel, mining. He hasn’t been down there since Terminus got the order to retire from work, thus that freed up Megatronus. “I understand your anger Megazarak, truly, but there’s,” He paused. “A more thoughtful path.”

Megazarak rolled his optics, “You and Shockwave, ‘there’s a better way’, ‘don’t lower yourself to their level’. You know if you really could solve the world’s problems with a snap of your digits, would you do it? Yes, no hesitation.”

“But,” Megatron jumped to his peds, “This, Megazarak, this is aggressive, when has violence ever solved anything?”

“In war, it’s always worked in war, and guess what? We’re in a war, a slow, painful war.” Megazarak stomped towards him, grabbing his collar and towering over him, those dark red optics glared down at Megatronus. “We’re in a war, who floods a whole sector just due to a little uprising? Megatronus if we were to step up there, as mining war frames? Guess what? We’d be dead.” He snapped.

Megatronus fell back down, rubbing his helm watching his friend stomp off. “Maybe Terminus is right?”

Megazarak stopped, spinning around. “No, no, he had the right idea, when he started the rebellion, but he gave up. He saw what the council could do and picked up his axe. He gave up, he was weak and gave up, this?” He gestured to himself than Megatronus. “This isn’t going to give up, Megatronus, we are dying, we’ll mine away our lives, and now? With this, we’re not stopping.”

Megatronus turned to the datapad, then back to Megazarak, he vented and rubbed his optics. “It won’t turn violent, will it?”

Megazarak shook his helm. “No, but this is a war, a quiet deadly slow war.” He stomped off.

Megatronus vented, shutting his optics so hard that it hurt. The water was at his peds, the screams filled his helm and mechs crawled over each other. His optics snapped open and he shook his helm, focusing on the task in front of him and pushing through the harsh words to the true message. 

The words, they piled up and up, harsh angry words, violent words, words that would make mechs turn mad. His tanks turned and Megatronus opened a new document, there his digits flew typing away the angry words and pulling out the sympathy and bonding mechs together. He stopped only when the word quota was filled and there was no more space. Pleased he saved it and tucked the datapad away in his subspace. 

* * *

“So, Megazarak was never interested in peace was he?”

Megatron shook his helm. “No, and like a fool I fell for it.” He rumbled, his servos flexing into powerful fists.

Optimus stared down at those servos, he knew what they could do, that his frame would crumble under such strength, a painful death. “Would you kill him?”

“Megazarak?”

“Yes. If you could, would you kill him?”

Megatron frowned. “No, I had the chance, I had many chances, but I didn’t, and I wouldn’t.”

“Why?” He leaned forward. “If you have all these chances, and he wronged you so horribly, why wouldn’t you kill him?”

Megatron smirked. “He would kill me first.”

* * *

The spark of his axe against the metal shot out and showered, again and again, illuminating the cave with flickers of light. He heaved the axe like it was part of him, sparked with it, another chunk of energon fell at his peds. He kicked it aside, burrowing into a new direction. Megatronus glanced behind him, expecting Terminus’ aged face plates smiling down at him, yet all he saw was the other side of the tunnel. With an ache in his spark chamber he continued, smashing rocks to pieces.

“Megatronus.” The foreman called, climbing into his tunnel. He paused looking at the piles of raw energon Megatronus had harvested. “We uh, need to talk about a new partner.” 

Megatronus shook his helm, cracking the wall again. “No need for a new partner, I can handle this.”

The foreman sputtered. “It’s a safety system, and I promised Terminus that you wouldn’t be alone.”

“I’m fine on my own, I’ve already doubled my quota for the cycle.” He snapped.

The mech huffed. “Hard helm.” He left.

Megatronus vented, looking out the tunnel entrance, how far away it was, how far Terminus and him had gotten. “I don’t want anyone else,” He huffed once more slamming the axe down. 

He froze just outside his hab, hearing the room creak and voices, plural. “Terminus?” He opened the door peeking in. “Sire?”

“So then, get this, the whole lab bursts up in flames, scaring my poor assistant and the mechlings on a field trip.” Shockwave laughed, slapping his knee. “They screamed so much as I just stood there helm to peds covered in blue flames!”

Terminus laughed, slapping Shockwave’s shoulder. “Oh you spawn of Unicron!” He stopped and grinned at Megatronus. “Come in, come in!” He waved Megatronus in.

Shockwave turned to Megatronus. “There you are! Here!” He shoved a container of energon goodies into Megatronus’ lap. “Fuel! Fuel!”

His tanks rumbled and he picked up a gold cookie, chewing on it like a savage turbo fox. “Uh, hi Shockwave.”

Shockwave grinned. “Long day at the mines?”

He nodded. 

Terminus leaned forward and snagged another cookie. “Let me guess, the foreman got on your aft for mining alone?”

“Yea.”

“We’ll talk about that later.” Terminus rolled his optics. “But finish up your story, please!” he elbowed Shockwave in the side.

“So normally when you’re on fire you don’t panic, and just head to the rack to put out the fire, but I just had to do this. I turned to the mechlings and screamed before running towards them. The poor things were so scared they jumped over each other, and started crying, I had to stop myself, after I washed off I showed them how the fire didn’t hurt me, and a few of the braver one’s didn’t mind having their servos on fire.” 

“Poor kids, Shockwave you scared them!”

He laughed. “I know, I know.” He finished his cube. “Alright so, the reason why I’m here.” he turned to Megatronus. “I wanted to do some research on how the miner class lives and expose that to the council.” His smile reached up to his optics. “And well I needed to visit you.” 

“Oh,” Megatronus took another cookie and chewed it slowly, never tasting something so sweet before. “That’s kind of you.”

“And I wanted to know if the next copy is ready?”

Megatronus felt his tanks fall and he glanced at Terminus, seeing his sire’s cheerful mood sour. Slowly hew chewed his cookie before pulling out his datapad and handing it over to the senator, unable to even glance at the retired miner’s frame. 

Shockwave didn’t notice or ignored the foul mood of the tiny hab, he wiggled on the tiny seat and started to read away. His digits started to zip by on the datapad, his well trained optics taking in the flood of information with amazing speed. The room filled with a soft tap tap tap, Megatronus stared down at his peds, feeling Terminus’ yellow optics burning into his frame. Then the tapping stopped and Shockwave paused. “Megazarak didn’t write this did he?”

Terminus turned to Shockwave taking the datapad and started to read over it.

“No, he didn’t.” Megatronus sunk down.

Terminus huffed tossing the datapad to Megatronus. “Your grammar is a bit rough, but besides that it’s well written.” He sat back, his frame groaning with the movement. “But that doesn’t mean you're off the hook.”

“Well you have to admit that he does have a positive motion to his work, not like Megazarak.” Shockwave added, tapping his digits on his knees.

“Yeah, yeah, but that doesn’t mean he’s not looking for trouble.” Terminus grumbled and rolled over.

“I think. Yeah, let’s do that, Megatornus, why don’t you write them from now on, just listen to Megazarak every now and then? You’ve got a stronger voice.” He stood up padding Megatronus on the shoulder. “You’re turning into a fine mech Megatronus.”

* * *

Optimus paused the recording again, taking a sip from his cube. “That’s what Shockwave was like?”

Megatron nodded. “Yes, he was...energetic, caring and a bit of a prankster.” He grinned. “Once had Starscream take a surprise foam soak.”

“But Shockwave?” He hated this, really did, it was difficult to picture almost any of this, bitlet Bumblebee, Senator Shockwave, all of it. And the answers were right there, just miles underground. The proof was right under their peds. “What happened to Shockwave?”

Megatron vented, his frame slumping. “The council knew how to punish mechs, they knew how to strike the spark of the cause. So they did, and destroyed him. Optimus, how I see it is two very different mechs, the senator that I met and the loyal Decepticon.”

“But, that’s so messed up, to do that to someone, to change who they are, he doesn’t even have a face anymore!”

“Optimus, they’ve already killed an entire underground living unit, doing what they did to Shockwave was hardly a painful idea to them, and what they would do to the rest of us, and me.”

Optimus shut his optics, he was starting to hate this. “What happened next?”

Megatron’s demeanor was more tense, his shoulders were tight, his optics narrowed and his chains were pulled in. “I had diagnostics.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be a ball kicker for some of y'all! ;)  
Diagnostics isn't a fun thing!


	14. The Saints Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Imagine if you will, a set of stairs that Megatronus fell down and each time he fell his life fell apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a song that made me really want to write this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LxJPCm6GNw
> 
> There's a part 2 to that song and a part 2 to this.
> 
> Cameo Dratchet 
> 
> And babby Bee returns for a moment!
> 
> Get ready for a SHARP LEFT!

“Megatronus!” The foreman yelled, crawling into his tunnel.

He stopped waiting to hear the whole ‘you need a new partner’ talk again. “Yea?”

“You’re summoned up top.” He patted his back struts and leaned forward. “Diagnostics.” He whispered glancing around the tunnels. 

Megatronus rolled his optics. “What? I’m healthy as well...I’m healthy, so what’s the deal?”

“It’s a check up and as much as I would love to let you slip through the cracks, this is one thing I can’t look the other way.” He frowned. “Megatronus you have to go, or they’ll send a recreaval party down to get you.”

He slammed his pick axe into the wall, it hung there. “Fine.” He snapped. “Where do I go?”

Go to the main square and wait there a medic will find you, his name is Ratchet.”

* * *

“Ratchet?”

Megatron smirked. “Yes Ratchet.”

“But...wait how old are you?”

Megatron thought, his engines rumbled and he leaned back. “35 solars cycles.”

“But-”

“Ratchet is much younger than he looks, stress can do that to a mech.”

“Huh…” Optimus made a little note to talk with Ratchet, maybe he could catch the grumpy mech at the right time?

* * *

He climbed out of the tunnel systems and breached the surface, the hatch clunked loudly behind him. Megatronus pulled himself out and went for the hose, a habit he quickly developed, he quickly rinsed himself off and waited, maybe the medic was late?

A little white and red bot spotted him and scrambled up to him, he was tiny, well everyone was tiny compared to him. His peds were big, a bit too big, he was hardly into his adult plates, bright blue optics and a rather handsome face. “My bad, I got a bit lost in Kaon.” He grumbled and pulled out a datapad, then finally glanced up at Megatronus. “Holy scrap I knew miners were big but not this big.” He reset his optics.

Megatronus shrugged. “Uh, Megatronus, sir.” He offered his servo hearing his sire’s voice in his helm.

“Apprentice Ratchet.” He took the servo, shook it and then flipped it over and inspected it. “Really big, goodness you could throw me, how old are you?”

“Uh 16 solar cycles sir.”

He sputtered. “16! Only 16?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, no, it’s fine, perfectly fine, uh follow me and I can get you a basic check up and such.” Ratchet scurried off, grumbling under his breath about this and that.

Megatronus followed him into the city, keeping close to the medic, as they navigated the city. Mechs gasped and stared up at him, some pointed others fell down stairs, Megatronus itched in his own plating, wishing he had a hologram on, maybe then they wouldn’t notice? Lucky Ratchet was snapping at anyone who stared too long.

Somehow they made it to the clinic and Megatronus squeezed through the loading dock and into a makeshift room. Ratchet pointed him to a padded berth and he promptly sat down, folding his servos and swung his peds. 

“I’m back!” Ratchet called into the hallway.

“Oh good~!” Another medic popped his helm in, he was a flier, older, but not by much. “And how was it my favorite student?” 

“Fine.” He snapped pulling out another medical datapad with wires. “Mechs kept staring at him.”

The filer stepped in, a needle thin smile spread across his intake. “Well he is a miner, and fine one, goodness I have to admit he’s got more war frame in him then expected, I mean look at the drill clamps, that can easily fit a cannon or a shield.” He scooted up and prodded the drill on Megatronus’ arm.

“Pharma, give my patient some space, please.”

* * *

“Wait Pharma, as in  _ the  _ Pharma, the one that was known for unruly medical practices, the one that disappeared when the war broke out?” Optimus spat his energon, his throat hurt from the sudden change.

“The very same,” Megatron rumbled. “But he didn’t disappear.”

“What?”

“When the war erupted there was nothing but chaos, and mechs hunted him down, and brought him to Megazarak, and Megazarak had his reasons for killing Pharma, a lot of them did.” Megatron shuttered and vented. “Can I get back to the story?”

“Sorry, uh go ahead.”

* * *

“Fine, fine, but I’ll be preparing the tools you’ll need for this in the other room.” He winked and his wing brushed against Ratchet’s arm before he left the room.

“I apologize for that, he’s-”

“He’s interested in you, but you’re not interested in him.” Megatornus pointed out.

Ratchet’s face turned a bright blue. “Well yea, bu-”

“You like someone else?” Megatronus leaned down. “Tell me doctor what tailpipe are you chasing?”

“I think it’s time for your check up!” He snapped and climbed up onto the berth, unlatching Megatronus’ arm panel and pressing the cords in. Megatronus laughed shaking his helm. Ratchet huffed and scrolled through his data. “Well you’re healthy, a few more dents then I would like but, okay.”

“Dents?”

He nodded and turned the datapad to Megatronus, it showed his underlying protomech and frame. “Yea, it seems like some of these are old, others not so much, that one on your chassis is very old, but the others are a bit younger, just the way your frame repaired. But I also notice that your frame is much bulkier than most, and that means that you’re more physically fit. Your plates seem to be doing alright and you’re starting to build up your last upgrade plating supplies.”

“So, I’m good? I can leave?”

Ratchet paused. “Not yet, we, well I have to do one more thing, and I need to put you under for it.”

“What thing?”

Ratchet’s face turned almost white. “There’s a malfunction that we find in mining frames, it’s nothing big but it means that your virus software won’t be as effective against rust if we don’t do this.”

Megatronus shrugged. “Okay, as long as I’m back in my tunnel later I don’t mind.”

“Okay, so go ahead and set aside your outer plates here and knock when you’re done, I’ll hand you a tarp and we can move you to the operating room and get started.” He scurried down the ladder and out of the room.

Megatronus woke not much later, he checked the time and smiled, it was still sunlight out, so he could navigate Kaon with ease. 

“Take it slow kid.” Ratchet said resting a servo on his shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

“Woozy.” 

“Give yourself a moment to stabilize, okay?”

Megatronus laid back, letting his processor catch up. “So...is that creepy teacher of your’s out of the room?”

Ratchet sat down and rubbed his face plates. “He left and asked me to close up, and don’t worry he only watched for a few moments before leaving.”

“Yea, I don’t like him either.” Someone else snapped and a dirty beaten down mech climbed up onto the platform Ratchet sat on. His optics were glazed and his frame wore many weld patches, quite a few between his thighs. “Name’s Drift.” He smiled, almost wiggling in place, his frame almost drifted towards Ratchet’s, and there was a look in his optics, a sweet look. 

“Megatronus.” He nodded, then spared a knowing glance at Ratchet. “So you don’t like Pharma? I’m glad I’m not alone.”

Drift snorted. “Even Ratty here doesn’t care for him much.” He leaned against Ratchet, his helm fins wiggled a bit, optics crinkling.

“Alright enough, off with ya, you’re not supposed to even be here.” Ratchet hissed and waved Drift off.

“Oh you break my spark.” He gasped and lazily made his way off the stand and out of the room.

“Why aren’t you chasing his tail pipe, it’s pretty clear that he likes you.”

“Kids an addict, and a buy mech, I only patch him up now and then and make sure he doesn’t leak to death out there. Doesn’t even have a home.” Ratchet vented and rubbed his neck. 

“So?”

Ratchet rolled his optics. “Kid’s an addict, inviting him in one night? He’ll steal everything in sight, not to mention what might happen when he’s coming down from the stuff, of getting high on it. It’s like asking a turbo fox into your hab. Not only that but I’m not one for sharing my berth with a buy mech.”

“Why did he stop by?”

“He wanted to check on me, and share an oil cake or two.”

“Oh doctor, you’re an idiot. He looked pretty clean to me, well mentally, not physically, and I’m guessing he’s sneaking around Pharma too? And oil cakes?”

“So what?”

“Do you know how much an oil cake is here? They’re pretty pricey, he could’ve used that money on drugs, but he used it on you.”

Ratchet sat there, curling in on himself. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’m a medic, I’m from Iacon, if I...if I was seen with him? There goes my medical license, my hab, my whole life.” He vented and shook his helm. “It’s not worth it.”

Megatronus sat up, glaring down at the medic. “Then tell him, don’t lie to him, and tell him the truth, or you’ll hurt him.” He got to his peds.

“Wait I need to escort you-”

“I can find my way on my own!” He snapped stomping through the loading dock and down the street. His servos curled into tight fists. That poor mech, Drift, his spark was going to be torn out by the one he loved. All because of this broken system that they played a part in.

* * *

“Did you ever come across Drift again?”

Megatron laughed and nodded. “Yes, I found him after a battle, he was half dead, processor blown out of his helm, drooling in a drug induced spiral. I took him in, made sure he was okay. When he finally pieced it together who I was, he broke down.” He vented and frowned. “Ratchet never told him and left him when the war started, when the bombs fell on Kaon Drift ran to the clinic, looking for Ratchet, when he got there the clinic was abandoned. Drift told me that he spent cycles in the city looking for Ratchet, he blamed himself, though Ratchet was dead.”

Optimus grit his denta and fell back in his seat, he tried to picture what it was like for Drift, running around in the battle looking for Ratchet. “And?”

“Well in short you know him as Deadlock now.”

“Drift turned into Deadlock? One of the most feared Decepitcons?”

Megatron nodded. “Yes, at first he wasn’t taken with the violence, but when he saw Ratchet, on the other side? Something broke in him, and he’s never been the same. I asked him once what would he do if he was alone with Ratchet, I don’t think you want to know the answer.”

* * *

Megatronus paused at the edge of Kaon, his spark dropping, there, where the hatch was, the gates were open, and millions of miner frames stood around. He then noticed that the civilian mecha were watching from the safety of the city, they were scared, both of them, the miners and the civilians.

A tiny bitlet beeped and stared up at him, wide innocent optics met his, and the bitlet beeped and wiggled. It was the same bitlet that he saved not too long ago. His carrier gawked at him. “Creations, get back, get behind me.” She hissed. They did, some stared, others shivered and some even cried.

Megatronus opened his intake.

“Please, don’t hurt us!” She sobbed.

He tossed up his servos and backed away, shaking his helm. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He said softly.

“GET OUT OF HERE MINER!” Another mech yelled, throwing a tool at his helm.

Megatronus hissed as the tool broke his optics, he stumbled away from the city and towards the miners. They welcomed him, they batted away the energon prodding him with questions.

“YOU FRAGGING MORON!” 

He knew that voice, frames parted as another frame soared above them, Megazarak fell hard on the ground.

“YOU LOST MY SON!” Terminus screamed, fists covered in energon, his frame moved fast, Megatronus had never seen his sire move like that. Terminus lifted Megazarak up by his shoulder, his fist reeled back and he slammed it right into Megazarak’s heavily dented face. “YOU FRAGGER! YOU LOST MY ONLY SON, HE’S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” He wailed on Megazarak. “I SWEAR THAT NO ONE IS GOING TO RECOGNIZE YOUR UGLY FACE WHEN I’M DONE WITH YOU!”

Megatronus pushed through the crowd and hugged Terminus’s chassis. “Sire I’m here!”

Terminus paused, holding Megazarak up by his throat, he turned his helm, optics softening. “Megatronus?”

“I’m here, I had diagnostics.” 

A shaky invent followed and Terminus dropped Megazarak, he pulled Megatronus into a tight hug. “Diagnostics. Did they operate?” He was shaking, his whole frame was quivering.

“Y-yea?”

Terminus cursed, it was foul and Megatronus flinched at the harsh language. “They took it away.” He seethed. 

“Sire what are you saying?”

Terminus pulled him closer and held him tightly. “Megatronus, you’re sterile now.”

“What?”

Terminus shook his helm, fat tears rolled down his face plates. “You can’t have sparklings.” 

He felt his spark break, his tanks filled with ice and he trembled, his sire pulled him close, openly sobbing. Megatronus crumbled inside of himself, knowing now that he could never have bitlets, that there wouldn’t be the soft patter of their peds in the morning, or the beeping, or the innocent optics staring up at him. 

He’d never hold a bitlet of his own.

* * *

Optimus paused the recording, he stared down at his notes, then glanced up at Megatron. The warlord looked tired, his optics were dull, almost black, his intake was a tiny thin line. And what really hurt to see, was those small bubbles of washer fluid. “I’m sorry.”

Megatron didn’t say anything, didn’t move, didn’t even flinch.

“We should stop for today.”

“No, there’s one more thing I need to say.”

* * *

They flooded the mines, all of them, it was sudden and unexpected, the miners rushed out of there, most of them got out, some didn’t. Their sparks were lost. They camped out under the stars, starting small fires and scrounging around for makeshift shelters, some found energon, others dug up small deposits and spread them around.

Megatronus didn’t leave his sire’s side, still in shock, he somehow stopped crying, and now he sat there numb. Terminus didn’t wash the energon off his fists, only now and then did he rub Megatronus’ back.

“Megatronus?” Starscream ran towards them. “I heard what happened, to the miners, Strika and Overlord are figuring out everything.”

Terminus growled. “Don’t. Touch. Him.”

Megatronus sat up. “It’s okay sire, Starscream do you know what’s going on?”

The seeker’s wings drooped. “Shockwave, he’s missing, and no one can find him.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU READY KIDS?!  
CAUSE I'M NOT!
> 
> What'd we learn here?  
Pharama is evil, and older, and totally fragged Ratchet and uh yea, it's dark.   
What Deadlock would do to Ratchet if they were alone? Use him and kill him (or so he claims, think of it more like Deadlock would break down but every time Ratchet tried to talk to him Deadlock would point a gun at him), he's really upset.  
Megatron can't have kids, I know someone is going to kill me!  
The mines have been flooded again, and now they're homeless and going to starve.  
Terminus can kick Megazarak's aft.  
Shockwave is missing (y'all know what's going to happen)

**Author's Note:**

> Shit's gonna get dark.


End file.
